Star Quilt Done!

'Check Out the Stars" is now done!!  The quilting element that was suggested to me was "SNOWFLAKES"! Of coarse, why didn't I see that. I'm glad I have smart friends :)  So I made some cardboard templates and drew out some very 'cookie cutter' style snowflakes with rounded edges.  I wanted a whimsical look on my quilt.

A tip I learned awhile ago if your looking for a specific motif for a quilting design is to use the term "coloring pages" in your search.  For example, I searched "snowflake coloring pages" in Google Images and got a huge selection of snowflake images that are easy to make templates out of.

It is cold and very windy out today, with a windchill of -28'c. Froze my hand (camera hand) taking pictures but that was my own fault as I kept finding new places to take pictures.   'Oh it looks good over there and over there...oh and just one more over there!'  I had a comment asking if I could do a post on how I photograph quilts outdoors so I might just put that together this month. 

I used Quilter's Dream Deluxe 100% cotton batting on this quilt as I wanted a heavier quilt with a good loft to the batting. And when I wash the quilt I will get that great heirloom wrinkly look that I want with this one.

 I stitched in the ditch in the borders and the stars.

I used two different Lava threads on top, beige and blue.  Bottom Line threads in the bobbin and even matched thread color top and bottom this time as they both blended well with the snow dyed backing.

Here it is in it's new spot, MY spot on the couch!  I feel like cuddling up under it today with a cup of tea and  just think about what my next quilting project should be. 

Inkblot Test

I decided to snow dye the backing for my Star quilt and this time I used a different fabric than my usual Wazoodle white cotton poplin. I had 4 yards of Kona white and gave it a try and it dyed beautifully.  The Kona has a thicker thread and looser weave than the poplin so does fray more but for a backing that okay.  I do still prefer using the poplin for fabric when it is going to be dyed for piecing.

I have this quilt loaded on my machine now and have started quilting...then ripping and quilting then ripping!

I couldn't decide on a design for the setting triangles.  After consulting two of my quilting experts they both suggested the same design element...one that had not even occurred to me and it's perfect for this quilt!  So this morning I made up a few stencils and am now a happy camper.  

I have to laugh when I look at some of the patterns in snow dyed pieces, they remind me of the old inkblots tests that were use long ago by psychologist.    

So... what do you see in this picture?   

Snow Dyeing, the Obsession Continues!

I love it when a day spent dyeing fabric turns out results like this!! Oh it's so pretty!

I'm experimenting with Snow Dyeing again and this time I tested the question "what difference is there when using two dye colors and you premix the dye compared to pouring the colours on separately?"  If you were not reading my blog last winter and are wondering just what I'm talking about, check out my Snow Dyeing Tutorial.

First I mixed a green dye using 1 tsp of Cerulean Blue and 1/2 tsp of Bright Yellow in 1 1/2 cups water and poured it on the snow covering the fabric (on the right).  Then I mixed 1 tsp of Cerulean Blue in 1 cup of water and 1/2 tsp of Bright Yellow in 1/2 cup water and poured two dyes on the snow (on the left).  I wanted to know how differently will the fabric dye.

The results....pre-mixed dye in the first picture, separate two dye pour in the second picture.

Then I mixed 1 tsp of Hot Pink and 1 tsp of Cerulean Blue in 2 cups water to make purple and poured on snow (left).  I also mix 1 tsp of Hot Pink in 1 cup of water and 1 tsp Cerulean Blue in 1 cup water and poured the two dyes on the snow (right). 

The results....pre-mixed dye in the first picture, separate two dye pour in the second picture (my favorite).

Here they are all together and there is definitely a difference but they all turned out great.  The multi colors in the two dye poured fabrics was expected but it was nice to see the premixed dyes showing some variety as well.  I was surprised to see blue spots in the premixed green dyed fabric and in the premixed purple dyed fabric.

I asked Lori if she had started any snow dyeing and she said they don't have any snow in Dauphin yet.  She is starting to eye the pile of shaved ice, dumped from the Zamboni, behind the town's ice rink!  So if any Dauphin ladies are reading this....if you see Lori with a few pails and shovel behind the ice rink you know what she is up too!  :)

* This is a hint to those that don't have snow and want to try this method....go scope out your local ice rink and see if they dump the ice shavings outside...and bring a pail!*

December Break

Today I spent the day sewing and I finished piecing Check out the Stars.

I am looking forward to this month as I take December off and do not take on any quilting jobs.   I get my longarm all to myself  :)  I now have 3 of my own quilt tops that need quilting and I'm also looking forward to snow dyeing again.

Speaking of snow dyeing the latest issue of Quilter's Connection will be out soon and Lori's and my article will  be in it!   Our article was mentioned on the cover.   A listing of where you can buy this magazine can be found here.

I also got a surprise in the mail yesterday, another package from my longarm buddy Desley in Australia.  I think she is trying to fatten me up and she is doing a good job!! If you look closely you see a jar of Vegemite, I have never tried it and was told was an acquired taste. So I gave it a go and spread some on a cracker. The smell was off putting at first but the taste wasn't offensive.  Then I gave some to my husband....his expression was priceless and I have never seen him run to the garbage can so fast to spit out food!  

She also sent a quilting pattern called Giant Dahlia by Michelle Yeo, it comes with acrylic templates for cutting. Love using these templates! It has curved piecing and the pattern looks quite complicated but I'm up for the challenge.  Thanks Desley....look for a package coming your way soon!  :)

Snowman Quilt #3

It has been snowing here for the past two day but the sun came out this morning.  I shoveled the ice again as I could hardly see where I had cleared it off a few days ago.

This is the guild third Snowman quilt and we will use this one for an In-House raffle at our Quilt Show in April.  I tried a new batting on this one, it is Quilters Dream Poly Select, the guild bought a whole roll to try.  It makes a much softer lighter quilt and I think this will be great for the guilds quilts as they donate so many and you never know how they are going to be taken care of.  I don't think I would recommend this batting for my clients larger bed quilts as it is not very strong and is quite thin. But for kids quilts that get washed a lot it would be fine.

I used a panto called Flurry. The pattern is called Perfect Ten and the fabric line is called Makin' New Friends. 

Proof I do binding once in awhile for guild project!

Here are the other two quilts the guild made using this fabric. We purchases a 36 fat quarter bundle of this fabric line and got three quilts out of it. Not bad eh!

Intersections

This is Raye's quilt and it's the first quilt she has made using batik fabrics!  She said she didn't know why she waited to so long to try batiks and really likes how they look.  I would have to agree!

The pattern she used is called Intersections by Cheryl Malkowski. It was a free pattern from Timeless Treasures but I couldn't find it on their site anymore. But I did find it here on this page for you to download.

I used Dream wool batting and So Fine thread on top and Bottom Line in the bobbin...in two different shades of beige :) 

I picked Whirlygig for the panto as this is going to be used as a couch throw quilt.   Using a light density design like this one with the wool batting makes it soft and cozy to cuddle with.

They're Coming To Take Me Away..Ha Ha!

That's right, I can hear them coming....it's The Quilt Police!!!

Once they see what I did on Robin's Mystery quilt I'm sure they will be after me.

My crime...using black thread on top and bright yellow in the bobbin. That's right I did it!  I'm guilty :)

I am slowly learning the advantages of matching thread top and bottom but sometimes I just can't bring myself to do it.  Robin bought a beautiful yellow fabric for the back and to use black thread on that would be a bigger crime in my opinion.  I like to match my bobbin thread with the backing fabric...there I said it!

Yes if you look really close you can see some black dots on the back but that can be okay if you know your client will be okay with it.  I set the tension so the yellow would not show on the top.  I knew Robin would be fine with how it looks and she was.  She knows after it is washed some of that will disappear and that most people don't look at quilts like quilters do and will never notice.  But I do have other clients that would go nuts with the dots and I would have just suggested to them to get a black backing instead. I am lucky to know my clients well.

I think we all have our different views on the subject of matching top and bottom threads and I don't think there is one right answer.  It all depends on the quilt, the client's preferences and the quilters experience. 

Am I crazy...don't be afraid to tell me, I can take it ;)

Did a little shovelling and sweeping and now have a new spot to lay quilts.  The sun is just above the trees at noon so this is the only place to get a good picture this time of year.  There is a good 4 inches of ice near the shore so enough to hold my weight.  

This is Mystery quilt #13.

Rhapsody is the panto I chose as it matches the design in the printed fabric.

Leaves

This is Marg's Block of the Month from a quilt shop in Saskatoon.  She brought me a package of Hobbs Tuscany wool batting to use and I was surprised at how puffy it was. It was the exact look she wanted, light and fluffy, so it worked very well for her quilt. I do find Hobbs batting are not always consistent in thickness throughout the batt like Dream Wool is but once they are quilted you really can't tell.

Marg likes quilting designs with leaves so I pick Bushberries for the center panto and free hand quilted leaves in the outer border to match the leaves in the center.

I really like the color of sashing she used for this quilt so that is the color of So Fine thread I used for the center. I used a darker green in the outer border.

A Little Kick!

This is Alene's Block of the Month quilt from our local quilt shop in 2005.  While I was quilting this one I wondered if there were any more out there just waiting to be quilted, or still just blocks or even worse... cut pieces of fabric still in their baggies with the month written on them?  So I am going to ask (dare) my local quilter to look and see if they have this one and see what stage is it in?  Consider this me giving you a little kick to rediscover what you have hidden away.

I used the Feather Curls panto for the centre quilting and free hand feathers in the border to match. 

'Check out the Stars".....on Ice!

This is my next quilting project using a mix of commercial batiks and my dyed fabrics.  I saw this quilt on Desley's blog here called "Check Out the Stars" and just fell in love with it.  I love blue quilts and since I have a lot of blue hand dyed and snow dyed fabrics I thought this would be the right design to use to start cutting into them.  Desley was great to send me a rough outline of her quilt so I could figure out how to make it.  I hope one day she finds the time to turn her designs into commercial patterns, they are amazing.

 These are frost crystals that formed on the ice last night.

They are about 1 inch long.

The lake was completely frozen over this morning as it got down to -21'C last night. 

Good bye water, see you next in May!

Just To Be Different

As you can see I am still determined to take pictures of quilts on the dock, even if it is out of the water and covered in snow!  :)

We had a bit of snow this weekend so it is feeling like winter now. You can see the ice is starting to form on the outer edge of the bay.

You might remember me posting this quilt when I had the center done back in September. This is our guilds Scrappy Squares project and I now have the borders on.  Well I had the borders on then did some picking as I wasn't happy with how they were designed.  Since I had already sewn it together I did a quick fix and am much happier with it now. I didn't like how the original design has two squares together in the corners so I got rid of them and replaced them with more background, just to be different. :)
I'm expecting to see a few of these through my door next year.

Before

After

What a difference in the landscape since I took the 'before' picture 3 weeks ago.
Now how to quilt it?