Orca Bay - Progress Report

Hi there,
I am pleased to say that after a small delay I have finally got my Orca Bay top finished !

After much pondering I decided to go for a scrappy green inner border.  I like the green in this quilt and wanted to add more.  Plus the fact I didn't have enough neutrals so green it was.

                                          Close up of borders

I'll be machnine quilting this but will stick to something simple.  Bonnie's designs are so dazzling it would be a waste to do complicated quilting.
I've put this at the top of my UFO pile becasue I really want it finished, bound and on my bed !

Bonnie, if you are reading this - thanks for a great mystery.  I wonder what you have in store for us this year !!!

See you all next time.
Rhianon.

Free Motion Quilting Challenge - February.

Some of you may have noticed the link in my side bar for the Free Motion Quilting Challenge.I took the pledge to do this but failed miserably to do anything for January.

However, when I saw February's challenge of feathers, I knew I wanted to give it a go.  I LOVE feathers !

I was so pleased with the result I made it into a cushion.

I did a rough sketch on paper before I started and took a risk by using satin.  I really wanted the feathers to show up and thought the sheen on the satin would do this nicely.

I worked it exactly as Diane Gaudynski showed us in the tutorial.  I loved Diane's feathers - she is very talented.  You can find out more about Diane and her work here

I quilted the background with as small as stippling as I could manage to make it really flat which would hopefully make my feathers look plump. 

I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 wadding and thread to match the satin.

I can honestly say that I feel I've taken a gigantic leap in my progress with free motion quilting.  For those of you who don't know much about me, I've only been free motion quilting for 10 months.
I am so pleased with this - I can't tell you!
I practice a lot and have heaps of determination!!!

                                                  Back of work.

For anybody who would like to join in the challenges, you can find all the info here.  The logo and link will be on my sidebar all year.

Personally, I can't wait for the challenges by Wendy Sheppard and Patsy Thompson .  I'm sure the other tutors will be great too.  Wendy and Patsy just happen to be two quilters who I admire and I follow their blogs on a regular basis.

I wonder what March has in store for us  - can't wait !!!

See you all next time.
Rhianon.

PS Fast forward a couple of days and I worked a second piece this time on silk.

                                    

Funky Little Chickens ! ! !

I've been working away on a little quilt this week but it's not ready yet.  Sometimes when you are working on a piece that is quite big, it's nice to have a break from it and work on another smaller project.

This week I made these...

I first saw these over at Madam Samm's blog.  Deonn from Quiltscapes Quilting did a fantastic tutorial last October.  Aren't they the cutest ?   If you'd like to make one, go here.

I needed a new pin cushion and thought one of these would be perfect.

This was the first one I made.  When I showed them to my girls, they both said " Can I have one please Mum!".  Actually Ursula my youngest wants 3 of the smallest ones to use for juggling!

Now they are arguing over who is to get this one with the cute liitle heart.  The heart is only there because I noticed a hole in the fabric after I had quilted it.

The big chick in this picture was made at quilt group about 18 months ago.  It is made from a log cabin block and not quilted.  I've no idea where the pattern came from but it is the same principal.

This one is from a 4" square.

This one is tiny - made from a 31/2" square.

They didn't take very long to make - I did all these over a couple of evenings.
I was going to have the yellow one but my pin heads  are yellow so I'll probably have the black one.

I'm linking up with Missy Mac Creations  - Erin is hosting the party this week so click the link and take a moment to have a look.   I'm very excited to be hosting a TGIFF party myself on 16th March - better make sure I have a good finish that week!

Have a good weekend everyone - we're in for a cold one here in Bonnie Scotland.  Perfect sewing weather!

Rhianon.

Scrappy Stars Wall Hanging

Hello everyone
Well it's been quite a testing week for me.  Sometimes free motion quilting goes smoothly and according to plan and sometimes it doesn't!
I've been working on this wall hanging  - a gift for my twin's birthday.

I saw these scrappy star blocks on Bonnie Hunter's website and had to have a crack at them.  The green scrappy border were leftover strings from Orca Bay -  thought I'd put them to good use.

I had terrible tension troubles quilting this and I didn't know why until I decided to give my machine a clean and an oil.  The lint inside the bobbin case was quite unbelievable but not really - afterall I'd just completed a Bonnie Hunter mystery.  Extreme piecing !!!
After a good vacuum out, some oil and a fresh needle, my machine is now back to it's normal self.  I don't know why I didn't do that in the first place.  Lesson learned!!!

Not good huh?

However it all turned out ok.

I quilted feathers with a pebbled spine and a meandering in the white diamonds.

Here's a great tip I got from Irene (at my quilt group).  Use soap to mark your quiilt top.  You need to leave it until the bar is nearly done then the edges are nice and sharp.  It's quick and easy and smells nice.

After my last post on the Lantern quilt, lots of people have asked if I have a long arm, but I don't.  Just a little domestic.

This weeks TGIFF part is over at What a Hoot .  LynCC is hosting this week and I promise you there are some fantastic finishes , no less from the hostess herself.  Go and check them out - you will be inspired !

I'm off to sew the borders on my Orca Bay now.
Have a great weekend.
Rhianon.