Applique - what happened next.

Finally giving up on the idea of FMQuilting the Istanbul Wall-hanging Experiment I opted for a simple all over cross hatch.  

It took time but gave a finish that I was happy with.

I had always considered that the Quilting would be my Nemesis - But never have I had so much trouble and issues with a BINDING! 

It just would not work.  

I pulled it off, put it back on and I even remade it. 

The problems seemed to keep multiplying.
And when I got it all right...

- I cut the tails off on the stitching line instead of the cutting line! 

It is times like this that DH comes in and gently removes me from the project for a nice l-o-n-g walk!

Several days later I was able to once again sit at it and calmly remind myself that it was an experiment and also not going to be subjected to the wear and tear that a quilt is.

A minute seam, a bit of glue, some reinforcing, a tug or two and quite a few short Prayers later the Binding was on and stitched down.

It was then into the Wash. 

Shoving it into a lingerie bag to make sure it got as creased and crowded as the Quilt would be in the machine.

The result: 

It did take up a bit as all quilts do, but each fabric didn't shrink nor did the colours run.

The applique was not quilted (as in the original) and Puffed up which may settle with a good steam but I will leave that until the DS & DDIL see the result.  

The intention after all, was to show them what will happen IF they have to wash their Quilt.

Footnote: I only did this because it was a Custom quilted, hand appliqued quilt -  The everyday pieced quilt I made them can be washed to their heart's content!

Revisiting Raw Edge Applique

I started off not caring what it looked like - It was only a Quick Sample.

The Idea was to see how "My Istanbul" (that I made back in 2016) would fair being washed. 
Better to ruin a Sample than an Award Winning Quilt!

But, before long my Father's words rang in my ears "If a job is worth doing - It is worth doing well" -So it has taken a little longer than I initially planned.

I found left over pieces of the Applique in my Scrap Stash and decided to make something 'Useful' in the process.

A design emerged and I was on my way - revisiting the past. 

It was amazing how I went from 'Not Caring' to "Where did that stray stitch come from?' so easily.

Eventually the Last Stitch was done and with the help of photographs, Border fabrics were found.

Now, I am in the process of (fighting with my machine while) trying to learn FMQing - a skill that eludes me! 

The Original Quilt was professionally quilted.

Once that is done, I can then throw this project in the washing machine and see what happens!

Australian Quilt Convention 2018

Never say Never!

Not so long ago I said I would never

 'Be good enough' to enter a Show. 

But I got brave enough, 

took a big deep breath 

and did!

And of course I said I would Never win a ribbon.

But..... 

Someone liked my Quilt and - I did!

And not so long ago I replied to a friend's question saying I would NEVER have a Quilt on display at the AQC.

(The Australian Quilt Convention - Held in Melbourne Australia, is the largest Quilt Show/convention in the Southern Hemisphere.)

And the Moral of this Post is . . .

Never say NEVER.

I will admit that I was 'blown away' when I received a letter from the Victorian Quilters requesting My Istanbul for display in the

 "Best of the Best" 

at this year's Australian Quilt Convention. 

(There was a bit of scrambling to be done - Retrieving it from my DS & DIL.  Having it Valued etc which was all a bit nerve wracking.)

And here it is, hanging in some awesome company.

And standing back, just another quilter in the crowd - watching and hearing snippets of conversations and wonderful compliments.... Made me feel Happy that other people liked it too!

Thank you!!!

MY Istanbul

Last November I posted "Just a Peek" of my Istanbul Quilt
I wanted to keep the finished quilt 'under wraps' as it was to be entered in a Quilt Show.

The centre Medallion was a design by Tamsin Harvey from her book Constantinople Quilts - which was exactly what my DS#1 requested for his Wedding Quilt
- BUT it was only a Wall hanging!

I needed the quilt to be Queen size - so after talking to a lot of very knowledgeable people,
I set the Medallion on point and proceeded to design my own corner elements for the setting triangles

Today it was awarded the Convenors Award
at the Victorian Quilt Showcase 2017

I didn't know Ribbons came in Pink -
But they do!

As well as a Certificate and Rosette

I received a sponsorship Prize of a Moda Layer Cake and 3 Charm packs in Civil War Fabrics from PK Fabrics

and a 12 month subscription to Australian Patchwork and quilting Magazine.

Looks like my next project may be taken care of!

* * * * *

The Victorian Quilt Showcase is at the 

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

 (affectionately known as 'Jeff's Shed') 

1 Convention Centre Place South Wharf Melbourne - Opposite Crown Casino

and runs until Sunday 30th July

Istanbul - Just a peek

My Istanbul Quilt is back from the wonderful Desley who once again has woven her magic and I am thrilled with the result.

As I have mentioned in previous posts - this is our Wedding gift to our DS#1 and DDIL, so I am not going to show it all off until it is bound!

BUT because I just had to share, here are just a few 'teasers' for those who have been following my progress .....


Outer border

(Here I have strayed from the original pattern in that my borders are not RED.)

The Center medallion

(You have all seen me working on the applique here, so I think it's OK to peek)

and it's outside edge...

(Lots of lovely feathers and pebbles).



I can't wait to show off the finished quilt - but I think there are a couple of people who need to see it first!

I've been a bit busy ...

Where on earth has the last month gone?

I could say that I have been 'blissfully sewing' but that would be fibbing!
The last month's sewing has been far from blissful.

I have been working on finishing DS#1's Wedding Quilt.

The original pattern, has now been enlarged from a wall quilt to fit their Queen size bed.

There has been a lot more applique,

(I think I may now be officially 'over' hand buttonhole applique!)

There have been mistakes
and mis-cuts
and plenty of un-sewing
and yes the occasional tantrum.

But my borders are now on and DS#1's Wedding Quilt is booked in to be custom quilted -

And THEN I will show you the finished result.



AND - just because this quilt will not be for sleeping under....

I have also been working on their "everyday" quilt.

20 of these done -
just another 10 to go

and then I can start on the alternate blocks!

Progress report - "Istanbul"

DS#1 & DDIL have been waiting patiently for their Wedding Gift while I have been slowly working on Tamsin Harvey's "Istanbul" Quilt.

As the centre filled with Tulips, Carnations and small blooms that are so typical of the Isnik design, I found myself researching more and more into this interesting and ancient art which is still very much alive today.

At last the whole cloth centre medallion is completed.

Looking back through my Blog Posts I have been stunned that I "only" started stitching this last October - it seems a LOT longer!

Of course there was the waiting for the book to be printed and a lot of preparation of the applique, not to mention a small problem of some lost Mojo along the way.



Now all that is left is some borders - and maybe, a tiny tweak to the pattern..... and then on to be Quilted.

I'll keep you posted.

You know you're in trouble when ....

The Quilt Police says "Take a Break" ....

... and if you don't

I'll just sit here and look cute until you do!

The odd thing about this is - Spike just doesn't jump up on the benches or tables - so sitting on my ironing board/work bench is VERY unusual!

Maybe I should take that break!

* * *

Before I was interrupted I was about to place the 4th applique spray onto my Istanbul Quilt centre.

It looks good sitting on the applique mat

But transferring all those  pieces which are so delicately held together isn't easy

And I have decided not to mark the quilt fabric with anything but some tacked in registration lines (see previous post).

A simple way around this is, with the template underneath, mark some key points through the fabric with pins ..

Then just position the flowers up against the corresponding pins and press!

And now I am ready to keep stitching...

(Interruptions permitting!)

Istanbul

Now that all the applique pieces have been cut out it is time to get on with the Quilt!

I have divided my whole cloth into 8 sections and marked a circle in the centre to give me a starting point and also prevent things from creeping into the middle.

Then carefully ironed the first section in place.

Now to choose the embroidery threads....
As you can see I have quite a stash. The result of coming across a shop that had been bought "lock, stock and barrel" by someone who had no interest in craft and just wanted to clear everything out ASAP.

Although I have had these for quite some time, they have been stored in Photo Archive boxes and are still quite sound.  The only exception being the Red which I will replace with some new skeins.

I also decided to make a new project specific pincushion.

Strips of each of the applique fabrics sewn together and embellished with some machine deco stitches.

I also placed a piece of ply (cut to size) inside the pincushion before stuffing so it had a flat and stable base.
So much easier to migrate around the house or balance on the arm of the chair.

I can now keep my threads on the respective colours eliminating the risk of picking up the wrong skein.
I also decided to use 1 needle per colour, so I can keep sewing without rethreading for the sake of six inches of buttonhole stitching!

Now that I am organised - it should just be a matter of getting comfortable and get stitching.

And to keep me from getting distracted....

It is booked in for custom quilting early February!

Now where was I?

Now that I have my Mo-jo (and Microsoft Picture Manager) back I will attempt to share my adventures with my Scan-n-cut so far ...

The Scan-n-cut was bought to help with the monotonous tasks of cutting out multiples of applique shapes - hopefully to save my hands as well as my sanity.

All these cut and ready to fuse in 3 and a half minutes!

(Well, maybe not quite THAT quick!)

For this project I am doing raw-edge fusible applique using "Applifix".
I have scanned each of my pieces and then multiplied them by the number required for the 8 repeats needed.

Then it was a simple matter of tweaking the individual pieces into the most economical configuration for both printing/cutting and saving fabric waste.

I have learnt that if you are not 100% confident that your pattern will fit on your fabric (especially if you are working on an off cut) the best thing to do is change to the pen tool and draw the pattern before cutting it out.

Also - if the fabric twists while being cut.
Stop the machine, swap over the blade for a pen and continue by drawing the pattern - you can cut it out / fix it with scissors later.

Like so many other techniques, it takes a bit of time to perfect, but when I was able to cut out and bag up an entire quilt's worth of applique pieces ready to fuse in less than a day - I can see that it was worth spending that time.

And the bonus is, now the pattern is saved in the machine's memory I can repeat each element or part thereof over and over, should I wish to make another of these quilts, or matching cushions/table runner ...

What am I thinking?? - Let's just get this one finished first!

Carnations ....

These Carnations are "doing my head in"!

I thought I had them down pat with the awesome cutting out function of the Scan-n-cut but I didn't like the way my sewing machine does buttonhole stitch. And to be quite honest - it didn't look good enough for a Wedding gift they have waited 2 years for.

I decided that needle turn would look nicer.
So I started practising needle turning all those itsy-bitsy little scallops that make up the petals of the flower.

Don't like the look of that!

OK how about doing the elements individually?

It will be a lot of extra work and look good - but will it look like a Carnation or more like a Daisy?

Next idea - redesign the petals into a 'zig-zag' - will this work?

I have used so much of my flower fabric doing samples I may need to buy more, and I don't want to get bored with it before I even get started. I just HAVE to decide on something and get on with it.

My sampler is now thrown across the back of the chair in the corner waiting for inspiration to hit again - maybe I will see what I need at the Craft and Quilt Show tomorrow.