Grandmother's Fan Quilt - More Qulting

Hi there,
I had a good week, ploughing on with lots of quilting.
Last post about the quilting on the Grandmothers fan quilt, I had got to the pale green border and had started adding some flowers.

I am using a Gutermann sulky varigated thread for the flowers and just a matching  machine quilting thread ( from Empress Mills) for the background pebbling.

 I'm free motion quilting this on my domestic machine and using a Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 wadding - one layer..

 Onto the outer borders now and I decided to do random, continuous feathers with swirly bits.

                                                                   Back of the quilt

 Front - I was going to scallop the edges but have decided not to cut into the feathers.  Instead I think I will just round the corners off.

Apologies for the flurry of photos in this post. I'm really pleased  with how this quilt has turned out. When I was piecing it, I had planned to put appliqued hummingbirds in the border but they didn't look right.
Without them I thought the quilt was a bit plain and lacking something but I'm so happy the quilting has brought it to life and I have an unexpected bonus in the form of my hummingbird wall hanging - another unplanned project that just happened.   The embroidery is finished on that, it is off the roller frame and today I will be making a pieced border for it.
Also yesterday, I got DH to put my machine back on the Gracie frame so I spent last night 'playing'.
I'll show you some of that in a future post.
Happy stitching til next time
Rhianon.

Hummingbird #2

Hello quilty friends.

Last week I got quite a bit of hand embroidery done on the hummingbirds wall hanging and bird #2 is now finished. Here is how it's looking now:

                                              This one has more blues and purples .

                                           I also added a little detail to the flower.

I now only have the third bird to embroider.  I've finished all the flowers so hopefully next weekend I can start to quilt this.  Can't wait.
Before I go, I'd like to thank everyone who left me a comment on my last post.   Life has been so hectic around here ( kids going back to school, work and orthodontic appointments) that I did not get a chance to reply to you all.  Sorry about that - I always appreciate your comments.
I'll be back soon with some free motion quilting to show you.
Have a good weekend!
Rhianon.

Grandmother's Fan Quilt - The Quilting

Hi everyone.

Hope you have had a busy and productive week.  I have, I've been quilting the Grandmother's fan quilt.
I decided not to add the Dresden plates around the edge and just to leave it plain,. I'll jazz it up with some quilting.

 I used a big plate to mark a curve on the blocks and then just sewed it freehand.  I don't have any rulers to use for quilting but I plan on getting one.  I am quilting this on my domestic machine and NOT on my frame.
There is a reason for this and I'll tell you at the end of the post.

                                                                Looking ok so far......

Freehand flowers in the border, I will fill in the background to make the flowers pop.  I'm using a Guterman Sulky variegated thread for the flowers and the wadding I'm using is one layer of Hobbs Heirloom 80/20.

I'd really like to get this finished next week if my shoulders are up to it.
Maybe you are wondering why I am not quilting this on my new Gracie frame?     Well, I can let you into a secret,  I have been asked by Grosvenor Shows if I would like to have a display of my work next year..
They need 15 - 20 pieces and they will travel to 4 different venues in the UK from January to April next year.
I said yes and now I am sooooo excited and just a little bit freaked out!  I am just a little short of what I would like to put in, so I am working really hard to put on a good display.  I am not practiced enough on my frame yet so this is why I am still quilting on my domestic machine.
Once I get through the autumn, I will have time to spend on my frame.  In the meantime it is sitting there and I admit it is a little frustrating because I want to use it so badly.  I will get there eventually though.
I'm off to do some sewing now.
Enjoy your weekend.
Rhianon.

Hummingbird Wall Hanging - the embroidery bit.

Hi everyone
I've been busy working on my hummingbird piece - it was time to begin the bird itself....

I started by laying down feathers at the top of the tail.  I'm using 2 strands of  embroidery cotton. It's Anchor or DMC  threads.

                                                             Taking shape now.

It's slow work but I love it.  I've been getting up very early in the mornings to work on this.

 Embroidery stitches I'm using are : split stitch, chain stitch, stem stitch. satin stitch and an open fly stitch.  Nothing too technical, it is just time consuming building it all up.  It will be worth it and I can't wait to quilt this one.

 I'm very pleased with how his body has turned out.  To get that effect, I am mixing one strand of one colour with another.

Nearly ready to move the work up on the frame and start another hummingbird.  There are 3 altogether so a little while to go before I get this one finished.
I hope you come back to see my progress.
Have a great week!
Rhianon.