 |
| Jasper on the New English Quilter frame |
This post is about Wendy, Jasper and Eileen. On Monday and Tuesday Wendy came down from Scotland for a 2 session machine quilting workshop. Wendy and I have been emailing back and forth for a couple of years, so it was a real treat to get to meet her in person. I set the frame up in the dining room for the workshop because the light is good. Wendy and I had a lovely time but Jasper thought we set the frame up for him. Jasper thinks it's a hammock!
Today my friend Eileen rang up. Eileen bought a table top frame years ago. Now she's looking for just the right sewing machine to put on her Birthday list. Eileen was wondering about the JUKI TL98-P. The frame was still up so I invited her over for a little play. We had to kick Jasper off so Eileen could have a go. Eileen loved it! After about 5 seconds she said "OOOOOOOOOOOh, I want one!"
After 10 seconds she said "I'm having one!" I think that birthday is sorted!
Meanwhile, Jasper walked into the playroom, stepped on the laptop and turned on a Garfield movie! I tell you truly! One of the kid's came running to fetch the camera! And here is the shot. Of course, once she had the camera, Jasper stopped watching. We think that Jasper is much cuter than Garfield! But he still looks a bit put out from getting kicked off the frame.
I decided to use yesterday's momentum to get me going on a UFO that's been ripening...for a few years! This quilt was inspired by a quilt on display at a show put on by one of our local groups, called the Pea Room Quilters. One of the gals had made teddy bear quilt for one of her grand children. The top was pieced out of flannel and it was backed with a good quality fleece. It was the softest quilt I ever felt! I've been using fleece ever since. But this is the first time I've paired it with flannel.
I've used a honeysuckle vine design for the quilting pattern using King Tut #989 Malachite on top and a green pre-wound in the bobbin. Anything with a loop makes it easy to maneuver around the available space. I thought that the leaf pattern would go well with the autumnal colours. I'm waiting for the morning light to take a good photo of the quilting, but meanwhile, here's the line design.
My friend Angie caught the quilting bug. Well, actually the piecing bug and the fabric bug too!It's such a good infection! I made a quilt for her daughters and now Angie has pieced a quilt for her sister's new baby boy. She's been collecting fabrics that a little boy might like and completed piecing her first top. I offered to quilt it for her. After feeling guilty for several weeks for not getting round to it, I finally got the kids to set up the frame after Church today, and it was done in an hour and a half! Oh the joy of a finished project!!
I've used this fun variegated King Tut #921 Cleopatra on top. I love this thread, especially with the bright colourful fabrics that Angie has used here. I've just quilted hearts and loops, a good pattern for favourite things. Angie's mum is fond of hearts too. I think that baby quilts are really about blessing mums and grans.This little quilt has bright red non pil fleece for a backing. I've used red pre-wounds in the bobbin. This creates a lovely texture on the back and it's soft and cuddly too. The pre-wounds hold so much thread - I only had to change the bobbin once. Now I feel great, I've done the quilt and blogged about it all in the same afternoon.
One of the best parts of my day, is finding out where I'm going to post the next DVD to. La Mer is going to so many exciting places; all over America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Iceland, not to mention England, Scotland and Wales. So far this week, my favourite places are Hawaii and Maryland. Hawaii because I've wanted to go there ever since our 5th grade class project and Maryland because that's my home state.
