Sunday 29 January 2012

Trial by Heirloom

Cutting accurately takes the loooongest time.
 I finished the green quilt top, but in true disorganised style, found that I didn't have quite as much dark blue cotton as I thought to complete the back. Sooo.......what to do while the cotton was on order?

Well, obvious really - start a new project. I'd bought the fabric mid last year to do Joel Dewberry's Heirloom quilt, but it had sat quietly in the cupboard waiting for me to feel confident enough to tackle it. Well, I can't say I felt more confident, but it certainly felt like the right time to Have A Go.


Top complete
At first, I felt a touch nervous of the specific cutting instruction, they certainly left no room for error, but I was amazed how quickly it came together after the cutting was done. I'm even wondering if I can use the pattern again as a stash buster - although I like the idea of learning new skills by trying different sizes and shapes.

Space is certainly an issue when pinning the layers together, I really don't know how people manage with massive double bed sized quilts! I think I possibly need to sweet talk a friend in to borrowing her floor in future. I'd decided in true in for a penny in for a pound fashion, that I'd use this quilt to have a go at free motion quilting. Which, I have to say, I had a go at on my old machine a few years ago and I was utterly useless at. The terror! In fact, I'm fairly sure I swore quite a bit, threw something, and vowed NEVER to try again. Glutton for punishment!
Anyway, I looked at some guides on a couple of blogs, Elizabeth Hartman and AmandaJean at Crazy Mom Quilts have absolutely spot on guides.

The finished article
I am absolutely delighted with how it turned out - not perfect by any stretch but I learned so much about free motion quilting by just working through this whole quilt. I found it easier to just floor the peddle and move the quilt steadily, by the end my stitch length was even and I found it easier to move through the stipple pattern. You know, I'm actually quite excited about free motion quilting. Ah, I love being a geeky crafter!

What next?

7 comments:

  1. It's lovely! Great job on the cutting, colors, pattern and quilting!!!

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  2. Great looking quilt. Congratulations and welcome to quilting!

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    1. Thanks for your comment, I'm really enjoying the process of quilting, and am geekily excited about mastering free motion quilting!

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  3. Hi, Kim! Found your blog via Lisa over at Shiner's View, and I'm so glad I did! Lovely quilts you've made there - I can't believe you're a beginner!! I'm excited to see what you come up with in the future.......

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  4. So beautiful!! Happy to have found your blog :)

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  5. Fabulous quilt! I'm so impressed by your foray into the terrifying world of free motion quilting. I've tried it a few times and shamelessly retreated back to straight lines or hand quilting. Scary stuff!

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  6. fabulous job - both the piecing and quilting - looks great! (Lisa / Shiner's View directed me this way and I'm glad I came!)

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