A Picture for Sunday - The Song of Solomon

New glass in a restored folly at the Rococo Garden at Painswick, where I photographed last week's butterfly - it was truly a glorious day.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 112 - Parallel Lines

It's a boring yet fascinating process.

The annual 12 x 12 exhibition at Midsomer Quilting is at the beginning of December, but for some reason I had it my head that it was next spring.  A couple of weeks ago I realised it was coming up soon, and it wasn't until last weekend that I decided that if I got a move on I could make a quilt (or very possibly two) in time for the show. 

So I am in parallel lines mode...

...stitching sea, sky and rainbow, with a swirly cloud thrown in for good measure.

The theme of the show is mystery, myth and magic.  Quite what I am going to do in the foreground is still a bit of a mystery to me.  I shall have to do about five minutes' serious thinking tomorrow.

Here goes for week 112...

The project in Week 111 that caught my eye was Yanicka's blue and white table runner.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia and Ireland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Picture for Sunday - Red Admiral in Autumn

Not a cloud in the sky - the mist had cleared and the Michaelmas daisies were alive with butterflies and bees.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 111 - A Sewing Tip

Riotous is probably the best description I can give my sewing room in this mercifully fuzzy picture.  This was a couple of weeks ago, but it's still a tip.  The sort out is taking far longer than I anticipated, probably because it is so boring.  So I have no project to show this week, but there is one bubbling gently in my head, which might transform itself into a scribble on the back of an envelope very soon.  That is where I tend to do my best drafting.

Here goes for week 111...

The project in Week 110 that caught my eye was Bernie's snowflake runner.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia and Ireland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Dress Half Made

Unfinished but definitely taking shape.  After all the preliminary fitting and pattern drawing, followed by a mere 28 darts, shape is the operative word.  Even at this stage I can tell it could only be for my daughter.

For the lining I have used a light polyester and cotton mixture.  It is firmer than the usual 100% synthetic lining material, which I hate because it frays like blazes, slips around when you are sewing it, and has a nasty habit of ripping at the seams after a certain amount of wear.  Let's hope I have made the right decision, because I have a niggling fear that the skirt lining might ride up.  I can depend on my daughter to complain if it does.

The dress and lining are joined so far only at the neck.  When I was pressing the seam with a bit of water to get a firm edge the thread did the dirty on me.  The red dye bled from the thread (admittedly it was fairly ancient) and I think I might have fixed it with the heat.  I am slightly miffed, but my daughter won't care a hoot because she isn't a devil for detail.  The photo here is by way of a moral tale for all the cheapskate dressmakers out there who think they can get away with using 30 year old red thread without testing it first.  This dress will definitely have its first wash with a dye catcher.

This is the kick pleat at the back.  To save myself from having to neaten the centre back seam, I cut the two back pieces along the selvedge, which, fortunately, was straight and not distorted..  The back seam is therefore a simple seam which is pressed flat.  For the kick pleat I had to cut a separate rectangle of material and insert it, using topstitched seams on each side.  The seams haven't settled down particularly well yet because I daren't give them a decent pressing until after the first wash. 

Perhaps I should steer clear of the old thread from now on, which will be difficult because it defies my sense of economy.

The next stage is putting in the zip down the back.  I can't say I am looking forward to it.  We shall see. 

Linking up to Connie's blog Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday 

A Picture for Sunday - Autumn Mist

One of the great joys of autumn, sunshine filtering through mist.  It is rare that I am out early enough to catch it. 

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 110 - Planning (of sorts)

Methodical or what?  Planning isn't my forte.  I prefer to bash ahead and enjoy myself and throw the pieces together at the end.  Such is the joy of quilting as you go.  However, having made six panels out of eleven for the Secret Project, I decided that it was time to decide where the first six were going to be placed, so that I can plan (after a fashion) the last five panels.  So here are all the coded labels, all in the top left hand corner so I get the panels the right way up.  Foolproof, you would think, but that still didn't prevent me getting one of the panels on the Surprise Quilt upside down.

Yes, I know the photo is rubbish, but this is a Secret Project after all.

Here goes for week 110...

The project in week 109 that caught my eye was Louise's fishy baby quilt, all made on a boat!  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia and Ireland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Picture for Sunday - A Glimpse of Kerry

Shades of emerald, blue and misty grey.  It looks so calm and serene, but it was seriously windy.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 109 - Surprise Quilt

Here it is - my most unplanned quilt to date!  Nine practice panels that have been stuffed in a bag for about three years are all now joined together and bound into a rather idiosyncratic quilt.

It is the right size to sit on the top of a double bed, but the only room today where the light was good enough for photos was my daughter's bedroom, so I flung it over a single bed.

The poor light played in my favour, with the shadow showing up the quilting really well.  The rudbeckias panel had to go in the middle because it is my favourite, and the grapes and the oak leaves above and below are the only panels with strongly contrasting cotton, so they went in the central column also.

I really loved how the pale brown gingham joining strips toned in with the cream colour of the panels.

I wasn't sure whether I would have enough for the binding.  It was a narrow squeak - I had about two and a half inches left over!

I am so pleased I could keep with the gingham theme.  If I had had to use another fabric for just a couple of inches I have no idea what I would have used.

The back is what might be termed fortunate random.  I didn't even look at the back when planning the placement of the panels.  It is pure chance that two identical panels didn't end up side by side.

This quilt has been an eye opener for me.  I have never had any inclination to make a one colour quilt, and I usually avoid pale colours.  However, now I have finished and am so surprised and delighted with the result, I think I might have to make another one.  Not just yet, though.

Here goes for week 109...

A big cheer for Olena for being the only person who linked up last week and saving me from sobbing all over my sewing machine.  If you haven't seen her beautiful autumn study yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia and Ireland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up to Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Nina-Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.