Friday, January 17, 2014

A Finish, A Test Video, And A Show Coming Soon


Well in time for my daughter's birthday, the free motion quilted bedspread is finished at last! Here you can see approximately half of it.  I had to fling the quilt over two rickety wooden clothes racks which are standing on top of three dining chairs squeezed between the kitchen dresser and the fridge.  It measures 76 x 96 inches.  Taking pictures of a large quilt in a small house in poor light is a bit of a lark, so a picture of the whole quilt will have to wait until another day.



In the meantime, how about an artfully arranged shot of the folded quilt?  

Getting the binding on took most of the day, off and on, on Wednesday.



The binding is such a wonderful shade of pink, and the flowers and dots so pretty.



It was interesting seeing how the flowers on the binding would turn out at the corners - each corner has ended up looking slightly different.



Using so many different prints for the joining strips was fun too.  If I wasn't particularly keen on a print, or if I hadn't got enough to make a quilted panel, I used it for the joining strips.

All told, this has been an interesting quilt to make.  It is the first quilt I have made entirely with Singer 15Ks - the quilting all done on the 1945 treadle, and the joining and binding all done on the 1949 hand machine.  I have found out how much enjoyment can be had with lots of pretty girly prints, and what a lovely feel dress weight cotton poplins have once they are free motion quilted.  I have also found out that brushed cotton is an absolute pig to use for a backing - too much friction and not enough glide when quilting.



Another bit of fun was making a test video, to see if I can make some half decent quilting videos in the near future.  Here is the last bit of quilting I needed to do for this quilt, intentionally draining the camera batteries, which were about to go, and with my lovely patient husband squeezed in the corner of the sewing room to start the camera while I treadled.  Not a brilliant video, I know.  If you want to see a well made video, watch this one of Amy's, and give her a big cheer.  Ideally I want to balance the camera on my left shoulder, or strap it next to my ear.  It looks as though Amy has already perfected that rare skill, and can do the quilting at the same time.

Finally, great news about a show!

Midsomer Quilting are putting together an exhibition to be held at Radstock Museum, to run from Saturday 1st February to Saturday 31st May.  I visited their last exhibition in 2012, it was fabulous - so many gorgeous quilts!  This year I am really thrilled that my Queen's Diamond Jubilee Quilt will be given an airing there too.  

Yesterday I took a drive across a stretch of very wet Somerset to deliver the quilt for the show.  My friend Kate came with me, and we turned it into a proper trip, stopping off at a wonderful second hand book warehouse while we were out.  We took a route that I was fairly confident shouldn't be too wet, and on the way the roads were not too bad.  What a difference on the way home!  A localised downpour on already sodden ground can be pretty drastic.  Flood water was streaming off the fields across one section of road we had to drive down, and other roads were cut off... so all the pretty pictures I thought I would take on yesterday's jaunt just didn't happen.  I'm just grateful we made it home without too much drama.

Welcome to Sinead Mercier, the latest follower - thank you for joining! 

Linking up again to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Julie's blog That's Sew Julie for TGIFF
and Nina Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday
and Leah Day's blog for FMQ Friday

Update 3rd April 
Linking up today with Katy's blog The Littlest Thistle for Finish Along 2014.  This is the only finish I have managed this quarter out of the three I planned.  I'm pacing myself.

17 comments:

  1. This is great! That binding looks amazing! The fabric is good and the top stitching is just beautiful! I laughed when I read about you taking those pictures. Thanks for linking up with TGIFF!

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  2. What a beautiful Spread. I'd love to see the whole thing. Yes, Your Dh was very kind and patient during the filming. Nice shot of the 1945 at work. Was it very slow? I''d like to try quilting on my A29 but I know how slow it is and would expect frustrations. Well done to you. Keep those Vintage machines working!

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    Replies
    1. Hello Melanie, Glad you enjoyed the video. No the 15K isn't slow - I can treadle as fast or as slow as I like. You will just have to have a go with your machine.

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  3. Oh my gosh, Muv, what lovely, lovely colors and prints in your daughter's quilt. Love your video, where I get to listen to your wonderful accent--just wish it were longer! And the Queen's Diamond Jubilee quilt is simply over-the-top beautiful. I had not seen this until now. Congratulations on the Judges' Merit rosette, and all the best to you in the upcoming quilt show!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Linda! The show promises to be a real treat. It is non-commercial and non-competitive - I should try to refer to it as an exhibition rather than a show - and best of all, it lasts for four months. Also, because it is held in the museum, bored menfolk can slope off and look at other things...

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  4. YAY on your finish and all of the rest of your exciting news!

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  5. A very beautiful quilt. You did a great job!

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  6. What fantastic mitres! And I love the fabric though not a fan of pink - may to have to rethink that!

    And the gloves - are they actually quilting gloves or gardening gloves? :0)

    May just have to go and see your quilt - Radstock is only 75 miles from me.

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    1. Thank you Anneg! My daughter is more of a fan of pink than I ever was, and she has managed to convert me. The gloves are supposed to be gardening gloves, but wouldn't last for ten minutes in a real garden - ideal for quilting, though.

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  7. Your daughter is going to love that quilt, it turned out great!

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  8. I'm a fan of pink and I like yours! I think you are so cool, doing freemotion on the treadle. Thanks for the video
    leeAnna Paylor
    lapaylor.blogspot.com

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  9. Great quilt and a really interesting story as to how it was made. I'm not too ar from Radstock so may see your quilt for real!

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  10. I love the dark pink. It reminds me of may tree blossom. The very slender strips of fabric in teh quilt are lovely. No room for error in the seam allowances there!

    I have two Singer sewing machines. A 66K hand crank machine and an electric one in a beautiful cabinet (I can't remember the model).

    I have so many feet for them but they never get used. The 66K needs servicing because its tension is awful and it keeps eating the fabric.

    The electric one needs a thread guide. I bought one on eBay but I don't think it;s the right kind because it doesn't go on the machine.
    I'll have to see if i can get them serviced. If you know of anyone who can get them working properly in the Bristol area please let me know! They're such beautiful old machines, it's a shame they aren't being used.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Penny,

      Glad you like the quilt!

      My best suggestion for finding someone to service your machine - telephone the sewing café in Clifton, Cordial and Grace (their phone number is on their website) and ask for the number of their sewing machine repair man. He has a notice on their wall and takes new customers referred through the café. I've never sent a machine to him, but my guess is that he should be able to sort out an old machine.

      Good luck!
      Muv

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  11. I love the strawberry fabric and the way you quilted this is fascinating. I will have to read more about your technique.

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