Frame Quilting Practice

After I finished the lone star quilt, I loaded up a plain dark blue piece of fabric onto the frame and looked out all my variegated threads.
I wanted to see how I could work feathers in a larger area.  As my machine ( Janome 1600p) only has a 9" arm space,that only gives me around a 6" working area.  Not very big at all.   So I have to find a way of working with that.
I did this by rolling the fabric back and forth in the frame.
It was valuable practice.
I used one layer of black Hobbs heirloom 80/20.  Most of the threads are Gutermann but I also used some machine embroidery threads.  They have a very high sheen to them and sew very nicely.

I started adding some sequins and beads but I'm really not sure about them.  They may have to come off.
I've moved onto my next project and this is hanging as a UFO.  Could possibly make a pair of cushions - one day!
Thanks for visiting my blog today.
Rhainon.

My Fishy Wall Hanging - Finished!

Remember my fishy wall hanging I started a while back ? - well I managed to finish it this week.  If you missed the original post, click here.  I called it a throw in my first post but it has now turned into a wall hanging :)

I was using the blue border batik for another project and needed to keep enough for this, so that how I ended up working on it.  It wasn't my intended finish for the week.

I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 wadding which seemed very flat after using thick 4oz polyester but I am more than happy with the result.

I had a lot of fun doing the free motion quilting ( on my domestic).  On the string blocks I started off using King Tut's varigated rainbow thread but ran out so I switched to a Gutermann rainbow thread and it was much better to sew with for some reason.  Perhaps the bobbin thread I was using was more compatible.

The fish and seahorses were small enough that they didn't need quilting.

I outlined the fish a couple of times then filled in with bubbles...

In the orange border, I quilted half a feather, using the edge of the center panel as the spine.

I couldn't wait to get to the outer borders to try a slightly different feather.  I wanted them to look a bit like seaweed.

Here's a few close ups........

I'll leave you with a final shot - this wall hanging is going in my living room. 

Until next time, happy stitchin' everyone.
Rhianon.

I'm linking this post to Connie's blog,Freemotion by the River for Linky party Tuesday.  Ok I know I finished it at the weekend but it still counts, I hope:)