Feather Practice

Well after a busy day yesterday doing food shopping, washing, ironing and housework and NO sewing I was itching to do something in the evening.
In the morning I had read Monika's blog and she had made a lovely cushion which inspired me to get working on some feathers.

First of all, I watched Karen McTavish's tutorial on creating Victorian feathers.
Then I practiced on paper :

I only marked some spines on the fabric, the rest is freehand.

I used a rainbow coloured varigated thread so it would show up nicely .

                                                            I quilted all the feathers first..............

...... then filled in the background with some pebbling.

It's the first time I've quilted feathers using the 'bump bump' method and I really enjoyed it.

I think I've managed to create a billowing effect with the feathers, which I am very pleased about.

I am planning to do this in the borders of my QAYG project so the aim was to fill a space wider than a narrow strip.
I feel confident I can do this now.

The finished piece measures 18" square approx and took me 2 hours to complete.

Okay, I'm going to go and finish the prairie point blocks now so I can get on with quilting more feathers.
Have a great monday everyone.
Rhianon.

My Batik Lap Quilt

Hello there

I loved the custom ordered cushions I made last week and decided to make a quilt using the same block.

The blocks measure 20" so I am doing a 3 x 3 layout with borders.


I am using my favourite batiks against a white background for maximum contrast.

4 completed blocks

I'm using a 4oz polyester wadding for a nice puffy lookand I will tack the points down by hand.

I decided to do this as a quilt- as- you -go project because I have not made a quilt like that before and also because it is easier to turn the work when I'm stitching the circular feather in the middle.
I know you are not supposed to turn your work but I find it easier.

I am really enjoying working the feathers.

These are the batiks I will be using for the borders.  I am planning to quilt lots of feathers in the borders.

So that is what I have been up to this week.

Before I go, I have one exciting thing to tell you.  Remember the Quilt Blogger's Festival ?  I was nominated to be a featured quilter ( thank you to whoever nominated me) and today is my day !  I just want to say a big thank you to Amy for organising it all.

I feel very honoured.

You can see the post at Amy's Creative Side.

Thanks for visiting.

See you all next time

Rhianon.

Teddy Bear Quilt - Part 2

Finally got to the shop for some binding fabric for the Teddy Bear quilt and here it is ....




 I had to make bias binding because I had rounded off the corners.

                        

Close up of quilting.



I used a 4oz polyester wadding for this quilt so it would have a nice puffy look and its pretty light wieght for a baby.   It measures 43" x 37".

I did quite a lot of stitching in the ditch with invisible thread.  I'm really        pleased with how it turned out.      

I used a pretty polycotton for the backing.                                     

I usually use a 100% cotton backing but any time I have used a polycotton, I've had no problems with shrinkage, 

       

So that is it for the moment.  I'm working on QAYG project - the blocks measure 20" square so it will make up quickly.  Here's a sneaky peek at the batiks I oredered for the borders.

                    I'm off now to list the Teddy Bear quilt for sale in my Etsy shop.

See you all next time.

Rhianon.

I'm linking up with Connie's blog, Quilting by The River for Linky Party Tuesday.    

Prairie Point Quilted Cushions

Hi there

I was very happy to get a custom order this week for two cushions.  The brief was " anything you like as long as it has lots of pale green in it".  The second cushion is going in a raffle that this lady likes to donate to.
This is what I came up with:

This is how it looked before I quilted it...

Very plain isn't it?   .......

..... but I love how the quilting turns it into something special.

 I showed it to my customer and she liked it so much we agreed that the other one should be like this but in beige and blues.

Here it is under construction.   It was great to get back to quilting some feathers.  I just love feathers!

I made my prairie points from a 4" square and stitched the tip down after quilting.

Somebody asked me if this was a Jennie Rayment design, but unless Jennie has copyright on prairie points then - no, it's my own design.

This is it finished but I need to get to the shops for a cushion pad.

I am loving making these and I confess I have already started another project using these blocks.  I'm making a quilt-as-you-go quilt. something I have not done before.
Off to work on that right now!
See you all again soon.
Rhianon.

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and TGIFF so if you have a minute, pop over and check out this weeks finishes.

Teddy Bear Baby Quilt - Part 1

Sometimes I will be inspired to make a quilt from just one fat quarter of fabric and this is what happened here.

 This is the FQ  and the teddy bear drawing I did for the appliqued center block.

I used Bondaweb to build up my design.....

... then machine appliqued the shapes in place.

I kept the border of the main fabric wide so as not to loose the pretty pattern.

Getting bigger......

I made these blocks for the next round but decided that it didn't look right and I didn't like them.
Onto plan B....

Plain border ?   Nah  didn't like that either.

Finally decided on a stripey border which I think looks nice.

Couldn't resist putting some feathersin the beige border.

To my disgust, after I finished the quilting, I realised  I had nothing suitable for making the binding, which I need to cut on the bias.
So at this point I will leave it here until part 2.   I need to get to the fabric shop pronto.
Hope you come back to see the finished quilt.
Enjoy your day
Rhianon.

Linking up with Connie's blog Quilting By the River.  Why not go and check out the work on display there ?

TUTORIAL - Applying Transfer Foils with Bondaweb

You can add special effects to your work such as transfer foils using Bondaweb.
Here's how:

These are transfer foils.  They come in a range of colours and I got mine from a quilt show.  If your local shop does not have them, try a craft retailer or online. 

Choose your design to have the transfer foils applied to.  Using Bondaweb cut out shapes and apply them SMOOTH side up with a hot iron ( no steam ) directly onto your design.
Now peel off the paper from the bondaweb.

Lay the transfer foil coloured side UP over your design.

Next, lay a piece of grease proof paper/ baking parchment over the foil and press with a hot iron ( no steam) for a few seconds.

Gently peel the foil from the design and the you will see where the colour has been transfered onto the bondaweb.

Feel free to finish your design with any stitching you like.

A word of caution here , I do not know if the foils are washable after they are applied as I have not finished this piece yet and it was my first time of using the foils.
I have a feeling they may be suitable for art quilts only but I will come back and let you know how this quilt turns out after washing.

Have fun with your foils!
Rhianon.