I'm pretty excited about this one. It's the first quilt that I've done creative quilting on. It's fun to make a quilt all the way through, from choosing fabrics, to designing a pattern, piecing, and then quilting and binding.
I used spray adhesive to baste it and it held remarkably well considering how much I handled it. The quilting in the centre involved a lot of nearly 180° turns with a lot of bulk. In the beginning I had the quilt rolled, but found it made it more difficult to turn, so I ended up just leaving it flat and bunching it up as I went.
I know some people are all about improvisation and seeing where the quilting takes you, but I'm more into planning and visualizing. I like to see what it's going to look like ahead of time. Knowing where I'm going helps me get there. I sketched out my designs ahead of time and played with a few options. I got advice at a quilting class too, with a design for the triangle border that didn't involve burying 60 threads ;) I'm glad I asked for help on that one, as I'm thrilled with how that border turned out.
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| Here's a better picture of how the colours look in person |
I didn't follow my plans exactly, mainly because I forgot a few things, but I still mostly stuck with my plan. The straight line quilting I marked with a Frixion pen and a ruler, then followed the lines, which made it pretty simple.* For the negative space inside the border, I free-motion quilted some sharp scribbles. I practiced with a pencil on paper many times before I started, so that I had a bit of a rhythm before I got to using thread. The design is sort of three Vs, then changing directions with a triangle. In the beginning, it didn't flow with the needle like it did on paper, but in the end, when I stepped back from it, I liked the effect.
*Sidenote - the Frixion pen doesn't seem to stay erased as much as I would like. It sat in my car overnight and some of the lines came back.
I'm so excited about this quilt. I love how the thread blends in on the front and the way the white thread stands out on the back. I wish I could capture the bright colours on camera better, but I'm grateful for having lots of family nearby with fences and clotheslines ;)
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| Kona Bay Hibiscus |
A pop of purple binding to finish it off!
I previously posted about this quilt here, designed with the help of the Hex n' More ruler, and I'm planning on a pattern for this one - I have the next fabrics picked out already to test the pattern out. Anyone else interested in testing it when it's ready? I also bought EQ7 on the weekend, so once I have some time, I'm think I'm going to have a lot of fun playing! Stay tuned for another quilt post later in the week.
Brianna, the quilting is great! I'd say your first attempt at creative quilting is a great success!! This quilt turned out beautifully!! Depending on when you are ready to test, I may be able to do it (still have not taken the plastic off of that ruler!). If the timing works out, I'd be happy to test it for you :) If it doesn't work out, I'll buy the pattern :) this is one of the best uses of the ruler I've seen!
ReplyDeleteThis quilt is stunning! Absolutely fabulous! I love the colours. You did such a great job with the quilting too. Well done! I have read on Lee's blog at Freshly Pieced about her experiment with Frixion pens. She discovered that they don't stay erased as well. She ran several experiments and one of them was putting her quilts in the freezer (must have been a deep freeze) and the lines came back when the quilts got cold. Very interesting! (She was worried about doing trunk shows and having the quilts get cold while travelling and then the lines would be showing at the trunk show.) Since reading that I have only used water soluble pens to mark out for quilting and use Frixion for marks that will be in the seam allowance.
ReplyDeleteThis quilt is just so amazing! Before even seeing what the name of the quilt was, I immediately thought of jewels with the fabric colors and the pattern. So beautiful! Visiting from Needle and Thread Thursday link-up.
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning quilt. The quilting just finishes it off beautifully. I heard that the Frixion pen come back when the quilt getting really cold. Now where I live in Australia I don't think I would ever have this problem but it is good to know as some of my quilts have gone to colder places in the world so I am being very carefully when I use them.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cynthia! Yes, I knew it came back if it went in the freezer, but didn't think my quilts would get that cold. I guess you wouldn't have to worry about it :)
DeleteHello Brianna,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous quilt! And such a lot of hard work with all the turning when quilting. The combination of straight line quilting with free motion sharp scribbles works really well, and the colours are lovely - I'm imagining them brighter. Sometimes the hardest part of quilt making is doing them justice in photos.
Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks!
Love, Muv
Thank you Muv. It was a lot of turning - frustrating at first, but easier with practice. It is a bright quilt! Thanks for hosting.
DeleteCongrats on a gorgeous finish - thanks for letting us know about the marking pen. I have 2 fixion pens but not yet tried them for marking quilting.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ruth. They might be fine on some quilts, but I'm thinking I won't use them for quilting white on white again.
DeleteI especially like the design feature of ghosting diamond patches around the star.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Claire, that's my favourite part of the quilting!
DeleteThis is SO beautiful!! Love the colours you have chosen, the rich jewel-tones, the pattern, the quilting! Do I detect some Dot to Dot Angela Walters' style?! It's just perfect. And the back--!! All kinds of lovely.
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautiful! I am in love with everything about your quilt! Both front and back are just...wow!
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