Picking up where you left off

Bunting Quilt on the 6 foot New English Quilter frame

One of the great features about our New English Quilter frames is the ability to pick up right where you left off. I was working on this quilt over a year ago. I needed to make room for a Demo so I took it off the 6 foot frame and put it to one side. I used it as a teaching tool to show how important it is to add side-sashing strips on the quilt top so that there is a place to get the tension working right before launching into the proper quilt.

on the left is the side-sashing strip where I sort my tension

But last week I decided to finish the Bunting quilt. So I loaded it back on the frame. Our frame tensions each layer of the quilt separately so there will be no rucks or wrinkles on the top or backing. I can pick up just where I left off whether it's 5 minutes or 5 months.

notice the undulating shape of the scalloped mussel shell background filler

 This red, white and blue Bunting Quilt began as a machine quilting sampler project. The top was easy to assemble with the bunting flags raw edge appliquéd by machine to a solid piece of fabric. the idea was to machine quilt something different in each flag giving the opportunity to try out a variety of patterns.

Each flag was outlined in scallops, then I used a scalloped mussel shell filler.

machine quilted with Kimono Silk from Superior Threads

I used Kimono Silk thread for machine quilting the various line designs and Bottom Line pre-wounds in the bobbins, all from Superior Threads.

an echoed ripple stipple line design

 This echoed ripple stipple design worked well with the blue crabs.

machine quilted with a JUKI TL98P Lockstitch machine

It was very satisfying to finally complete something that has been a WIP (work in progress) for a long time.

All About the Fabric

Spring Maid Founder's House Sampler reproduction fabric

Most quilts have a main 'thing' that drives the decisions about design and materials. Sometimes it's the piecing or the quilting. This quilt is really all about the fabric. All the decisions that I made about the layout, the colours, the threads and the quilting design were really all about how best to showcase the fabric. 

one of the Springs adverts, my mom's dress was similar

The fabric for this quilt is a reproduction of a fabric originally produced by Spring Mills in 1951. My mother had a dress made from this fabric. I borrowed it from the attic to use in a Harvest Festival folk dance  in 1975. I lost track of the dress during my move to England in 1989, so when I saw the reproduction fabric featured in a magazine advert in the 90's I had to buy some. 

piecing the borders

I'd been saving it for something special and when my son, Ben's girlfriend Jade admired it, I decided to make her a quilt. Jade shares my love of things retro so I knew that she would appreciate it. I didn't want to cut the fabric so I decided to frame it within a couple of borders. At first I'd considered using a pieced chevron border. I even dedicated a whole pinterest board to the idea. But I wasn't happy with the look. In the end I chose a lovely large Kaffe Fassett rose print against an aubergine background and a small blue print. It was simple. The colours were rich and it set off the central panel beautifully. 

 machine quilted with a JUKI TL98P on the 8 foot New English Quilter2

My next choice was the quilting patterns. I decided to quilt the borders differently from the central panel. I wanted to use Emily's pattern for the large rose outer border. But as I practised it on paper the design morphed into something a bit different. I used a stack of hearts for the small blue border.   The central panel is a series of stripes and I decided quilt each stripe differently. 

this #306 Buttercup Kimono Silk thread was perfect for the central panel

My thread choices also were aimed at showcasing the fabric. At first I chose a dark red Rainbows #832 called Rose Garden. But as I began quilting the Kaffe Rose fabric border it was just too good of a match and I found that I was quilting blind. So I changed to #814 Gypsy, a thread which showed up just enough so that I could see what I was doing. And no I did not unpick the first stitching! It was close enough. I used this same thread to stitch the hearts in the blue border. For the main central panel, I also wanted a thread to blend in, merely to create texture and not to draw attention to itself. This gold Kimono silk thread was perfect. 

subtle stitching that echoes the fabric design

 I've just taken the quilt off the frame and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. Now it just needs the binding! I take some photos in daylight and I'll post about why I should have called the quilt Eight Maids a Milking.

I didn't want to love you

I made a sample thread demo piece for the thread talk in our April Retreat. I wanted to show just how different thread looks actually quilted on fabric as opposed to on the cone. It was a fun exercise. I used the same mussel shell line design so everyone could see how different threads played out with the same design against the same fabric.

Although I had some Kimono silk thread in stock I'd never actually quilted with it before. So this practice piece was my first try. To be honest, I didn't want to like it! Using silk thread seemed extravagant. Although it came highly recommended by famous names like Diane Gaudynski, I just wasn't convinced that it was an option for the ordinary quilter.

I was certainly taken by surprise! This thread went though my machine like butter on bread. It just glided - no breakage issues even though I was in a hurry to finish the project in time for the start of the retreat. I didn't want to love it but I do! So now I'm building up the Kimono Silk stock. Let me know if you want to try it too. Superior Threads new line of Kimono Silk is available here in the UK for £15.95 for a 1,090 yd. cross-wound mini-cone... a little extravagance goes a long way!

It's not yet up on the website but we can order whatever you fancy. You can view the colours on the American Superior Threads site and give us a ring on 01526 378057