better late than never...

Late spring I finished my moody blue. The top was made last summer using the last pieces of my blue vintage linens that were left after making two lap size quilts: sea glass diamonds and cloud 9. It measures 48" * 80" and is hand-quilted with perle cotton no 16 on quilters dream request cotton batting (a favourite). The big baptist fans pattern on the solids part of the quilt was marked using a favourite stensil from Barb Vedder. I used a cotton linen mix for the bigger solid pieces of the quilt. This adds to the weight and also creates a lovely drape. 

The quilt has spent the summer decorating the wall of my dining room. As the seasons change, it is now put away... And I just wanted to share some pictures....

; )

may day

a wonderful time of the year

a sunny morning

a holiday celebrating international workers day

a handsome, longarmed husband aka quilt holder available

a sweet kitty

a few tulips surviving the april showers

and the new leaves of the wild rose

what better set up for a quick photoshoot of my finished sweet sixteen quilt?

size: 48" * 72"

vintage linens (cotton / polyester) top, cotton batting and a voile back

hand quilted in perle 16 

the colors of this quilt will match the wild roses hiding in the early buds...

can't wait... we're all set for summer, now

; )

wish all of you a beautiful day!

cloud 9

Soft and light, my cloud 9 is photographed on a cloudy summer day. The quilt finished at 52" by 76" using hobbs thermore polyester batting and a soft voile cotton batting. Probably my most "low volume" quilt to this day.

The bottom pictures both cloud 9 and seaglass together. The scale of the big stitch hand- quilted clam shells shows well next to the machine quilted diamonds. Both have soft voile backings. Even so, the hand quilted one is softer, due to the more open and less dense quilting. 

As cloud 9 is made from left over fabric from seaglass, they really complement each other. I think 3 light blue quilts made this summer gives away my most favorite summer color combo?

Now, all we need is a bit of sunshine so these can be tested in the hammock...

; )

wordy wednesday wip

I wanted to share a bit of my process quilting this cloud 9 top. A few times I have tried basting a quilt while it's hanging on the wall and not laying on a floor. Sometimes crawling on my knees and basting is not so tempting...

In the first two pictures you can see my glider curtain system. I put my back up first, right side facing the wall. Then I secure it with painters tape, stretching it out as flat as possible. This particulate backing is a 54" wide cotton voile - very slippery!!!

Then I centered and attached my light polyester batting with pins to the backing. Again, stretching it out and taping it to the wall. 

Last layer is the top; centered, pinned and taped to the wall as well.

The basting is done using my favorite bent quilters safety pins. I have to say it was great using them while standing up!!!

; )

This big star variation top is made from left over triangles from my sea glass quilt and egyptian cotton. The star blocks are 23" big, and I wanted to try something new: clam shell utility quilting. Inspired by the lovely book by Carolyn Forster: "Utility quilting -  simple solutions for quick hand quilting."  (This book was introduced to me by Mary of Molly Flanders; thank you!)

Using a full 8" diameter circle paper template. Big open quilting. Aiming for a light, summery and soft quilt. The pins ended up in the center of each clam shell by sheer luck. I love how the clam shells makes me think of clouds...

; )

Having fun with my favorite perle 16 and embroidery needles. Marking with a grey chalk pencil, three rows at a time. 

Wish you all a lovely wednesday!

a sunny sunday morning

It's a sunny sunday morning in may. And I have a fresh, new quilt to show you. 

My "sea glass diamonds" finished (last night) at 50" by 72". Pieced and quilted with Aurifil thread (which I have come to really love as my sometimes temperamental machine behaved perfectly).

The vintage sheets top paired with Hobbs Thermore polyester batting and the soft cotton voile (54" wide) came together like a dream. I basted it hanging on the wall, with pins. Quilted it using fixion pen to mark the lines. And it worked like a miracle... So soft and light. A true summer quilt. This is my 8th quilt from 8" like sided triangles. Probably not my last...

The hammock looks a bit lonely, so I am going to spend some time there reading my book. I'll enjoy the sweet company of my cat, and maybe even her new friend from yesterday?

Wish you a lovely sunday, too!

wednesday words

simple,

soft spoken

and with a sunny personality

mellow yellow have been through the washer and dryer

she now has a texture that says...

touch me!

This spring equinox we are longing for some sunny days...

september finish

Time for another triangle show and tell. Another smallish vintage linen quilt:

my cool summer breeze finished at 43" by 50". Hand-quilted with perle cotton on quilters request cotton batting.

These soft and romantic colors are photographed on a gray and rainy autumn day. 

Using a solid cotton for the back, the quilting is showing up nicely...

It has a lovely drape. The cotton batting makes it so soft to handle...

The size is determined by the content of my vintage linen stash, mostly picked up from Jeni's tempting store. It will fit my sewing machine storage unit, just like this one.

We are having rain showers with a sprinkling of blue sky now and then. Pulling out this quilt makes me  long for next summer. This one went by too quick!

Wish you all a good weekend

; )