And then some

For the feather on the last stripe, I used this tonal Diamond Head LAVA # 215 from Superior Threads. The fabric was busy, so I wanted a thread that would blend in.

I let the fabric pattern guide the line design for this stripe. I've machine quilted a double scallop skipping along the edge. Then I wove the feather along the flower garland in the centre. For the red stripe, I used a holly leaf and berries with the deep greens of King Tut #989 Malachite. This time I coupled it with a loop design for a bit of variation. That all the stripes! I've ordered some rik rak for the finishing touches. I can't wait to have it on a bed!

Feathers

I haven't quilted feathers for ages! But watching Trudi at the Festival of Quilts this summer inspired me. The next stripe had just enough room for two wavy feathers, with an echo round the edges. Now I'm hooked.

I chose this variegated King Tut #914 Ramses Red. Even the back looked pretty. You can scroll back and see another photo of the feather stripe on last Wednesday's post.

Thread Choices

For the next 3 stripes, I used the same quilting pattern; the Filigree Scrollwork design that I used on the table runner. In the first red strip, I added the holly leaf motif.

I used a King Tut #989 Malachite - a lovely rich green tonal. Since I've already given a doodle design for that pattern in a previous post, I'll focus on the thread choices.

For the 'houses in the dark' stripe, I used this new King Tut called 'Holy and Ivy' that I picked up on the Houston Trip. It was so like the Boughs of Holly tube of cookie sprinkles that I just had to photograph them together.

For the red and green 'fir forest' stripe, I went for a larger looser version of the same scrollwork line design. After a bit of thought, I went for a gold Metallic for this one. By varying the thread and scale, and throwing in a motif, the same line design played out quite differently across the three stripes.

Lines and Spaces

In quilting, the un-quilted spaces are just as important as the quilted lines. In fabric like this, with a large motif, I like to stipple quilt around the motif. In this case, it makes the roses pop up. I chose a fine thread that would blend in with the background colour, so it would create texture without drawing too much attention to itself. Here I used MasterPiece # 158 Moccasin from Superior Threads.

Then I was tempted to accent the roses. Again I chose a colour that would blend in; Rose Garden #832 from the Rainbows range was ideal.

The tonal variation of the thread was just like the fabric.

All together it made for a fun first stripe. As ever,

clicking on the images

will give you a clearer view of the stitching.

Gingerbread Stripy

I'm calling this a Gingerbread Stripy, because the brown with the red and green reminds me of the gingerbread Christmas cookies that my Nana used to make.

I love buying Christmas fabric! But I don't always manage to do something with it before Christmas. I pieced this stripy top years ago but this year, the snow days last week gave me the time I needed to quilt it.

Stripy quilts are a great opportunity to use up Christmas fabric. They're good for practising machine quilting too . I like to do a different stitch in each stripe and play with different threads as well.

I used a super soft red minky fabric for the backing. Although I often use fleece, this was the first time I tried this thinner minky as a backing. It worked well. I'll be using it in other projects!

I've used this post to introduce the Gingerbread Stripy Quilt. I'll spend a bit of time going into detail, stripe by stripe, in the next few posts. Meanwhile, clicking on the images will give you a better view of the stitching

I've struggled to get a photo of the whole quilt that is true to the colours. The smaller individual stripe details are better, but this one gives you 5 of the 7 stripes and a sense of how it all came together.

Hoar Frost

I found this fabric while I was rooting around my stash over the weekend. I really like the colours and the light coming through the windows. I am enjoying how this fabric mirrors the colours I photographed on my walk today. The Fabric designers; Interlitho Studios for Wilmington Prints certainly got this palette right!

There is sometimes a lovely interplay between art and nature.

England is usually so mild. In the 23 years I've been here we've never had such a landscape!

Stay warm, enjoy the beauty!

Christmas Runner Details

Here's some doodles of the lines designs in the runner. On the paisley part, I used the 'Filigree Scrollwork' design, this is the simpler pattern on the top of the paper roll. It's in your New English Quilter handbook, in the line designs section. I'll be featuring this line design in the new DVD but I'm calling it 'Every Which Wave'. In the little red check part, I've added a holly leaf to the pattern. The doodles are always larger than the actual stitched design.

Here you can see it on the side board.

Oops, looks like I forgot to dust!

The Filigree Scrollwork pattern just disappears

into the paisley print.

It adds some interest but doesn't get in to the way.

The centre poinsettia pattern was fun to stitch around.

I usually like to use lots of different threads in a project. But this light reflecting Rainbows; #809 Kailua, from Superior Threads looked great against all the fabric.

Christmas Table Runner

I love snow! A couple of weeks ago, I was wishing for my life to go on hold just for a few days so I could catch up. Then it snowed. Snow days are such a gift! I'm getting to work on projects that I never would have found the time for...like this table runner which has no wadding and is not technically a quilt. So I'll call this a free motion embroidery project. I pieced this runner a couple of years ago but never had time to machine embroider it together, until yesterday.

You may be thinking, "Why has she pinned the runner that way on the leaders?!!"

Well, I have 3 good reasons:

1. I wanted to execute a certain line design and it was going to be easier to draw it from this direction. This is the main reason.


2. I had my New English Quilter set up at the 6 foot size for a demonstration and a couple of workshops last week. So loading the runner this way was quicker and easier - it used less pins too!


3. Finally, because the runner doesn't have any wadding, the roll of fabric under the arm was not going to get too big. Smaller projects always leave much more room to manoeuvre.
   In the middle section I've just outlined the poinsettia petals. Not slavishly, mind you, but quite freely. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Presents

Superior Threads make lovely Christmas presents for your quilting friends. I'll be placing an order in the next few days so if there is a particular thread you're hoping for, let me know and I'll make sure we have it in stock for you.

email: martha@machinequilter.co.uk

'Joy fills hearts planning for good' proverbs 12:20

We can also gift wrap and post your present!

A Silver Lining

After such a rainy grey day back here in the UK, it is good to be reminded that every cloud has a silver lining! Here's an amazing quilt by Susan Stewart. One of the best things about the Houston Quilt Festival is getting to go round the exhibition and meet all the winners. It is customary for the winners to stand with their quilts and take questions. We were able to photograph the quilts and get to know the quilters as we asked questions about materials, techniques and inspiration. What a treat!

Susan Stewart won the $5,000 prize - the Pfaff Master Award for Machine Artistry. This was an amazing quilt and the photos hardly do it justice. You can click on the photos for a better view. Susan noticed our name tags, designating us Superior Threads exhibitors. She told us how much she loved Superior Threads! Susan explained that she used 47,000 yards of #623 Silver from the Bottom Line range of Superior Threads, both on the top and the bottom of this quilt.

As the name suggests, Bottom Line thread was created as a bobbin thread. But once it came out on the market, long-arm quilters tried using it on top and found that it worked!

You can see in the photos how Bottom Line is superb for detail quilting or creating texture without drawing attention to itself. In the Grimm's fairy tale, Rapunzel spins gold from straw. In this quilt, Susan Stewart uses the least expensive thread in the Superior Thread range and spins silver!

Houston Highlights

We're back. The Houston Quilt Show was fantastic!! We timed the visit so we could catch the end of the trade show - Quilt Market and the beginning of the public show - Quilt Festival. This was our first visit and it certainly lived up to our expectations! Here's a view of the Houston skyline taken from our hotel window. We arrived on Saturday, and caught the last two days of Quilt Market. Quilt Market is the trade show and a fantastic opportunity to see all the new fabric and gadgets and sewing machines and mid to long arm frames. We also got to meet many of the bloggers and designers that I follow online. And then there were all the amazing quilts in the exhibition. Truly inspiring! Here's Rachelle Denney from South Australia, one of the winners.

Our first day visiting Quilt Market was Halloween. So most of the stalls offered sweets and many of the vendors dressed up. Here is Heather Purcell from Superior Threads - also known as 'Mother Superior'.
The show organizers offer awards for the best dressed stalls too. Amy Butler's gorgeous stall took first prize.
But so many of the stalls were simply stunning works of art in themselves. Designers were so creative in how they displayed their fabric. Here's Alexander Henry's stall. Many of the stalls created a retro feel this year by incorporating distressed furniture props like this ladder and plank shelving.

It was a real treat to wander around and see so many famous people, surrounded by the fabrics they design or the quilts they create. There was such a spirit of camaraderie! Everyone was willing to stop and talk shop. Here's a picture of Angela Walters who quilts for the designer Tula Pink. Angela was such a pleasure to meet. She noticed our name tags and told us how she loves using Superior Threads in her quilts. She always uses So Fine! on top. It's her favourtie machine quilting thread.
Quilt Market lasts until Monday afternoon. Then it's all change as the Trade Show comes down and the Festival sets up for the general public. We've lots more to post about! Watch this space, today is just a taste.