Friday, April 25, 2014

In which she gets there eventually...

Once upon a time I showed some photos of the Giant Chevron Baby Quilt and apologised for the terrible state of the potplants on my deck.  It has only taken three months to show the new and improved version... but good things come to those who wait!

BEFORE... I know the quilt is good, but the deck accessories leave much to be desired

On a side note, the little chappie for whom this quilt was made, made his appearance on Good Friday - another cousin to add to the whanau ;0)

AFTER: Poppy was just so excited to be in the photo... can you see her tail wagging?  We used some Xmas money to buy new deck furniture, and reused the existing pots, some succulent cuttings and some self grown Yucca?? plants to make it all swish again.


And today the hub's removed an old unused vege bed, angled the shrub and ornamental boat garden with a new retaining wall, and made it nice and easy to mow.  An important consideration!


I disappeared into the sewing shed and made good progress on my own projects.

The butterflies are all together:


And will be quilted once I have finished with this one.

I'm using a cream Aurifil thread which blends nicely into all the fabrics... and gives a nice embossed effect in these photos.  I'm also using a 60/40 Matilda's Own Cotton/Polyester batting for the first time... I did the stick test before committing to buying and while it's not as sticky as pure cotton, it's pretty good.  No puckers or shifting so far, even with my less than perfect pin basting skills.
 


The diagrams probably give a better description of the quilting pattern.  Basically an all over pattern, decorated with balloon flower, ribbon spiral and leaves...

My version is a little bit more open... I didn't want the quilting too dense, and I also wanted to finish it some time this century :0)

But I was quite intrigued by some of the details in this design, and introduced the double leaf detail... to help keep the design full but at the same time open.


I'm proud to say that I am using some of the wonderful knowledge I gained at the Taupo Symposium, which has given me the confidence to attempt a semi-complicated all-over pattern on my domestic machine.  It's all about having a plan about where to go next.  I'm officially a quarter of the way there... whew... now for the rest of it!

5 comments:

Susan said...

Ah yes- a plan on where to go next on a quilt and on the UFO list! Always good to have a plan Suz! Love both quilts and the deck is spruced up too!

Leeanne said...

loving the Giant Chevron! I have that pattern, must use it! Maybe I will make it at retreat. I really like the butterfly quilt too, I like how the tilt this way & that way!
Great quilting, you must be pleased with your results.

Charlotte Scott said...

Your butterflies are coming along nicely, have you decided how you are going to quilt it? Glad the wool/poly batting is working out. I think Raewyn's been using it a bit too and finding it good.
Garden looks great - does he want to come and do mine too?!

Raewyn said...

I love the setting for the butterflies! Both your quilt tops there are looking great! That's an interesting quilting design too - lots of variety for an allover. What weight Auriful are you using? The finest?

Raewyn said...

I love the setting for the butterflies! Both your quilt tops there are looking great! That's an interesting quilting design too - lots of variety for an allover. What weight Auriful are you using? The finest?