Another partial seamed but with all the Asian prints it gets kind of lost but I notice that the pictures really do not due the quilties justice! SO pretty in person. Love making the scrappy quilts.
Even though there was no piecing involved, this was a project that took time. My Warm & Natural Batting plus the weight of the panel and the backing fabric - it was heavy. Took me quite awhile to do the curved walking foot quilting, and then I loved doing that binding. I used Timeless Treasures "Shimmer" for the binding. The top thread is OMNI in a tan, and the bobbin thread was prefilled So Fine 60. Meanwhile I ordered two large cones of OMNI, and gave away over 12,000 yards of good threads to make room for my two new cones of OMNI in a pastel yellow and faded light sagish green. Whisper Green and Lemon Cream. The backing is Prairie 108" Wide Pink from Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs. It is lovely fabric of a slightly heavier feel than light quilting cotton. Beautiful stuff.
As you can see - I had help making the quilt. :) Pearl always has to inspect the work in progress.
The quilt is for my dear daughter-in-law. She is a pleasure to know and a wonderful person. She loves National Parks and has taken the family to quite a number of them. I wanted to make two quilts for each of my kids and for her as well. I don't know how many more large quilts I have in me at this point. The weight is difficult to work with in the quilting, but I do love quilting itself. The National Park panel I bought at eQuilter. It is a Riley Blake Design as well, and measures 54" by 72".
The question of covers came up on PR today...to cover or not to cover. Of course to cover is the answer unless you crave dust in your machines! I have already talked about these covers, but I wanted to have another go at it....plus here is the plastic quilted one I bought for the Pfaff....I love the pockets...
All in all covers are the best idea. Nothing exciting in the sewing room at present. Working on a quilt I will keep under wraps until finished, and the doldrums of Late Summer have worn off. It is larger, and is being quilted with OMNI thread on the top and So Fine 60 on the bobbin. Large sweeping curves with my AcuFeed on my Elna. Love that technique, but it takes time.
Yes, another scrappy Asian prints Kitty Quilty. I cannot keep away from these scraps. I have lots more as well, and will be making probably a throw for the sofa from some of them as time goes on. This little quilt is a bit larger than some I have made, but the cats do not seem to be in a critical mood, and our Ranger kitty slept on this one right away. It graces a comfortable chair. Sewn on my Brother Innovis PS500, and bound on my Elna eXcellence 720P. Finally found that if you match the bobbin thread to the backing of a quilt, then sew the binding on the front first, matching your top thread to the binding, you can have your little blips of visible stitching not so visible on the other side! The top thread is covered when you turn the binding to the front, and the bobbin thread blends nicely on the back. ;) Some may be more precise than I am, but as for me, I will continue this method of subterfuge.
My hubby asked me to make him some water bottle holders with handles - I looked on the web of course, and found this video on YouTube and downloaded the pattern. I didn't actually use the video after a brief view. Here is the website where you can find the pattern, as well as lots of other really nice projects she has designed. Nicely done site!
Here is the video:
Sewing a Water Bottle Holder
She has included several sizes of patterns for the bottom of this bag. I
used the medium size as I like to make my seams a bit wider than marked
on the pattern. There is a separate pattern on her website for an XL
size as well. I did it much as the pattern but I did the handle my way, and I added a top facing which I
stitched down over the outside as both a slight reinforced top portion
and slightly deco as well! ;) This pattern is really nice as far as drafting the rectangle for the body of the bag and the
handle - very clear. The only pattern piece provided premade is the
bottom and there are a few sizes included which I was amazed fit various
sized bottles we have! I could have done the body of the bag without
the chart she provides, but that was icing on the cake, and I used the
chart to calculate. It is a simple bag, but I found her pattern very
helpful.
I didn't watch the video for instructions because it is pretty
evident how to sew it if you have made a bag before, and the bottom
piece is tricky but that's all part of transferable skills.
I did the handle my way which is to fold over and into the middle and
sew the handle down the middle to seal all edges. Then I tacked the
bottoms of the loop together and basted the handle to one side of the
rectangle before sewing the body of the bag. Then I enclosed the handle
bottom in the side seam. Then I reinforced that side seam.
I had some leftover heavy chambray and some lovely twill from a air of worn
out men's pants stored for just such a use. Having these about is
handy for things that sort of come up. I seldom have a wide range of stash. It would be nice to make a
really pretty carrier as well - but I do not use water bottles at all so
no one in my home would love a flowery one. ;)
The embroidery was so much fun. Tea cozy made to fit the lovely ceramic teapot I bought awhile ago. I made this as a gift for someone else who has the same teapot. I had bought a lot of this double sided muslin awhile back, and I have used it for a few small things since then. The serger cover was the main item I made, so I had an overage of fabric left! I still do. Madeira thread used, and my trusty Brother SE400. I find that that machine is all I need for embroidery, even after 6 years! The design is a built in design on the machine. It is gettable at Brother however. I love it. I had made a tea cozy years ago, and that had to be modified a few times over - it is a self-designed pattern. So this is a final modification of the pattern. Fits my teapot and the gifted one perfectly.
Every now and then I love to embroidery something with a cute design, but all in all embroidery is not a main thing for me. I do love this little machine! Bought with retirement gift certificate, it has proved a worthy purchase, even had I paid full price! :) Brother machines are a lot of fun to use. Their user interfaces are much more intuitive than other manufacturers machines that I have experience with.
The pattern is a great draft, as are all the Love U Bunches patterns I have tried. I did change it to be lined in the bodice, as I didn't want to mess with tiny bands at the neckline. That would be exceptionally difficult for beginners too I think. A lining really does the V neck justice. :) That is the only thing I changed. I didn't consult the directions on the pants really. They are really nice as well and not too full. Many doll pants patterns are too full in the legs but this one is perfectly sized. I used a paw print fabric or two from eQuilter, and that was so much fun. I had this cut out awhile and finally decided to make it up. Glad I did. Next time I will do a partial lining because the cut on sleeves end up with double fabric as well when lined. All in all I love this pattern and this line of patterns and I have the 18" version of this cut out as well as well. :)
This quilt was for my son. I finally finished it a few months later than had been planned. I just loved the fabrics in this - mostly Robert Kaufman. I used Warm & White batting, and a gray toned floral flannel backing from eQuilter The quilting is Magnifico from Superior Threads in a lovely glistening silver. I used a "Rainfall" quilting method - it is just wavy lines randomly done down the quilt. For this pattern, I start at one side, and then when I get to the middle where the quilt begins to really be unwieldy in the harp of the machine, I turn it and do the other side from the bottom of the quilt. It works well. I previously described the setup to quilt on my Elna 720 here. I just saw that corporate offices for Warm Company are in Lynnwood WA. So I guess the batting is near home because the quilt now resides in Washington as well.
Most of my quilting cottons stash now is Asian prints and that is by choice. So much to admire and so helpful to a restful brain to contemplate.
Did two little cat quilts from my scraps. It is fun and turns out so pretty each time! This one above is the largest and is a good fit in the living room on the cat resting place on our long coffee table. :) The one with the most blue in it is smaller and rests beside my Pfaff on my sewing table. :)
Here is a picture of the binding process. I had the Elna set up for quilting the large quilt I am working on, and so the Pfaff was up to bat as the binding machine. It goes fine when you engage the IDT. :)
Bought this book because it looked interesting, and because it has a lot of sewing machine feet illustrations of different sorts for different machines. There is a nice rundown of the kinds of shanks, the feet that fit, and how to use the feet she mentions. Although I am venerable in this field and have lots of feet for lots of machines, past an present, the information will be valuable to so many both beginners and advanced sewers. As I get into more of the book I will write more here.
I was surprised to see that she includes projects. In general I don't buy project books much unless I specifically want to make one of the items illustrated. SO - I had not noticed any mention of included projects, although there well may have been a mention. However, these projects directly relate to the use of the feet she includes. For example, there are free hand monogrammed pillows, a little quilt including binding instructions , and an old art - how to hemstitch napkins! There is a clever kimono pattern, and a cross body zippered bag included. All in all this book was a great buy and I might even try a project or two.
