Orca Bay Mystery Quilt - Finished!

Feeling very pleased to have finished Orca Bay.  For those of you who don't know, this was Bonnie Hunter, of Quiltville's mystery quilt last year.

I machine quilted it on my domestic (only) sewing machine.

I worked a large swirly pattern in the center.

Some stippling in the green stripey narrow border......

...........and finally some little feathers on the outer border.   I used plain black for the binding.

                                                             Close up....

I love how it turned out and now I'm looking forward to having it on my bed this coming winter.  Should be very cosy!!

It's been a while but today I'm linking up with Missy Mac Creations where Erin is hosting this weeks TGIFF linky party and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict, so head on over and check out the finishes!

Be back soon with more quilty stuff.
Enjoy your weekend.
Rhianon.

Ring Bearer's Cushion

This is the reason I was practicing all those feathered hearts the other day.....

I've made a ring bearers cushion for my friend who is getting married in 3 weeks time.

After all that practice, I was able to quilt the heart first time - YAY!!

This is the frill being added.....

Didn't take long as the cushion only measures 81/2" square.

If you want to see how I make up my cushions, check out my tutorials.

I added some little pearl beads to echo the heart shape and two pieces of fine ribbon to tie the rings on with...........

I added some little rosebuds around the edge for some interest......

I gave it to my friend last night and she was delighted........ now I just have to think what i can make for a wedding present within 3 weeks!!

Just thought I'd add these photos.  They were taken at night time under my spotlight but they show up the quilting well.

Isn't it funny how the light affects the photos?  It looks almost green from the reflection from the cutting board.

Onto a new project now - I'll tell you about that in the next post.
I'm linking up with Connie's blog for Linky Party Tuesday today.

See you all next time.
Rhianon.

A Feathered Heart.

Hi everyone.

It's so good to be back in my sewing room after the summer holidays.
I have so much to work on I don't know where to start!

Decided to go with a little ring cushion I promised my friend I would make for her wedding.
I thought a quilted heart on satin would be nice but a practice run was in order first.

This was my first attempt - ok except the plumes on the outer left hand side are going the wrong way!!

I saw this one on the internet - it's better, at least the plumes are going in the right direction but not keen on the ugly space in the center of the heart.

Back to the sewing machine....... 

Attempt no 3

Again my plumes are going the wrong way :(

No4
Much happier with my plumes in this one but again the space in the center is ugly!

Back to the machine....

Finally on my 5th attempt, I produced something I was quite happy with.  This time I marked a small heart in the center of the bigger heart and this helped me keep a nice shape.

Phew - I was hours working on these.

I made 2 of the samples into minature cushions for my girls.

Next day, I quilted on satin for the ring cushion.  Everything went great until I realised the wadding ( a thick polyester)  I had used made unsightly bumps under the satin..........

Today, I'm going to do it again but use a superior quality hobbs heirloom 80/20 wadding, probably a couple of layers as I want the heart to look puffy.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with a finished product.

Enjoy your day
Rhianon.

Linking up with Sarah's blog, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, so why not head on over to see what everyone else has been up to.

Summer Holiday Sewing

Hi everyone.

It is good to be back.  I've been on a lovely family holiday to rural Suffolk.  A beautiful part of the world, full of charm with thatched roof cottages in abundance.

Our cottage didn't have a thatched roof but it did have a swimming pool which our gilrs loved.

 There was a lovely pond in the garden with Koi carp and beautiful waterlillies......

...... and lots of big dragonflies...

I couldn't go on holiday and NOT take any sewing, so I decided to start a hexie project using only florals.

My hexies measure 1" on each side and I was able to transport everything in a small container.

I've opted for this red fabric for the background.

This is how it is looking so far.  I am really enjoying doing some hand sewing again.

This week my hubby goes back to work and my girls go back to school so I can get back to some serious sewing.  I've not looked at my machine for 2 weeks and I am itching to get stuck in !

I have a lot coming up including finishing Orca Bay in time for the quilt show, making a ring cushion for my friend who is getting married in 4 weeks time and also starting work on a new commission for a bed quilt.

I hope you are all enjoying the summer.

Rhianon.