Quilting Decisions

Hi Hazel here! After all the excitement of my daughter's wedding I'm finally coming down to earth and today got back to sewing. I dug out a modern quilt blocks inspired by 'Quilting Modern' and stitched them together. Here is the quilt top layered and ready to quilt but where do I start? Here are a couple of close ups of the blocks:

I love stitching free motion quilting curvy designs but I think this one needs something more geometric so I think I may do some echo quilting and see where that takes me. In  'Quilting Modern' a similar quilt is quilted in an overall large zigzag which I think looks great. 

How would you quilt it? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Now what about thread? Do you have a favourite type of quilting thread? I have a pretty good stash of polyester and rayon machine embroidery threads which have a lovely sheen and come in an enormous array of colours including variegated shades and are reasonably priced:

I particularly like Madeira's Polyneon range. Remember to unwind some thread on your quilt top to judge the effect - these can look rather startling on the spool but are a bit more subtle in a single strand! The variegated spool at the bottom right is Superior 'Rainbows' which is very shiny and bright - another lovely thread. Some people are surprised that I use polyester thread  as I always use cotton for piecing but I don't have a problem with it for quilting if it gives the effect I'm looking for.

I think my all time favourite quilting thread is Superior's King Tut- a gorgeous silky smooth Egyptian cotton which sews beautifully on the machine. It comes in a range of 100+ colours, subtly shaded solid and wonderful variegated shades. This is more matt than the poly and rayon threads:

It's often difficult to judge the colour of threads in the shop as they have a plastic wrapping which reflects the light. Consider investing in a thread wrapped shade card for our favourite brands:

They make internet shopping so much easier too!

All the above threads are 40 weight. Remember that the smaller thread weight number the thicker the thread. 40 weight is a medium thickness, 30 weight is quite a lot thicker and 50 or 60 is a fine thread. I use a fine cotton for piecing e.g. 60 weight YLI soft touch or 50 weight Superior Masterpiece because these make a flatter seam for patchwork. I also use these threads in my bobbin when I use the quilting threads above through the needle. Why? Well when you do free motion quilting you will sometimes stitch a few stitches on the spot at certain points in a design and a thicker thread will make noticeable bobbles on the quilt back whereas a thin thread won't.  I generally try to match the colour of the bobbin thread to the top thread. Here's the hand dyed quilt backing:

I think any colour thread will blend with this! 

What type of needles do you use for quilting? I like to use a topstitch needle because it has a sharp point for penetrating the layers, a larger eye than a other needles and a groove down the shaft which lets the thread run smoothly. The large eye is also great if your machine doesn't have a needle threader! You can  get topstitch needles which are titanium coated and last five times as long as normal needles and I love these!

I buy most of my threads and needles from Barnyarns in Ripon. I can visit the shop near the canal, send hubby off to walk the dogs along the towpath so I can browse in peace, then meet him back at the lovely deli opposite Barnyarns for a cuppa and a bacon butty!! Barnyarns do have an extensive array of threads etc on their website too.

I'll be back soon with pictures of the quilting. In the meantime please share your quilting tips with us by leaving a comment below.

Happy Stitching!

Hazel

Rainbow String Hearts

I love scraps! I love to play with leftovers from a project and often like the things I make from leftovers better than the original item!

I also love colour and really enjoyed playing with these rainbow scraps in order to make string hearts.

 The method I used to make them left me with lots of 'bonus triangles' which turned into some of the cutest flying geese I have ever made. This project is going to be a cushion and the flying geese will make a lovely border on the back of the cushion.

 I have also made string hearts in some of my leftover red and white fabrics but I think I like the rainbow ones better! What do you think?

Modern Quilting Magazine

When I first heard about this magazine I tried to get a copy but to no avail. So when I saw it in WH Smith at the weekend I decided to buy it. Normally I don't buy magazines, preferring to save my money for books (you should see my Amazon wish list!) but this is for research purposes isn't it?

 Also I was drawn to the cover as I am a fan of Tula Pink - hers was one of the first blogs I followed.

 I am actually quite impressed with the magazine - there are loads of great articles - much more in depth than your average quilting mag.

 I never knew that Amy Butler's hubby was a fabric designer too - there is a good article about him and the pattern for this quilt made from his fabric line - Parson Gray.

 This is Tula's quilt pattern which appears in the magazine.
Did you know she has a book out? I almost bought it but had already ordered two this week - but it will be my next purchase.

 This Modern Alphabet quilt appears in the mag - but not the pattern.It is available to buy as a pattern but not sure if we can get it in the UK. Perhaps it is in the book?
Anyway I love this pattern - the machine quilting on it is excellent, I would love to make it one day!

So to summarise, I think Modern Quilting is a great magazine for up to date info and patterns for modern quilters. However there have been rumours on the internet that the magazine's publishing company has gone into receivership - I have no idea if these are true or not. All I will say is that I will not be taking out a subscription - just in case! 

Slice and Insert!

One of the techniques mentioned in the new 'Quilting Modern' book recently reviewed by Hazel was 'Slice & Insert'. This is a technique I have been playing with recently so I thought I would share some of my projects with you.

I am working on a new liberated patchwork workshop sample inspired by one of my favourite Gee's Bend quilts. I decided to slice and insert a red strip into my liberated stars - I am really pleased with the effect.

 I have also used the technique on an orphan Civil War block. This was inspired by reading Rayna Gilman's latest book where she encourages us to chop up those orphan blocks. This one you may recognise as 'Birds in the air.' I know the fabrics are far from modern but bear with me as I think you might find the results interesting.

 First I sliced it diagonally and inserted a pale cream strip. Still boring, I know!

 But then I sliced again through the other two small triangles and rearranged the pieces - this is much better I think!

 Got any orphan blocks that could do with a makeover?

A Bloggers' Quilt Festival

This weekend I have visited the Malvern Quilt Show for the first time, I enjoyed the experience, bought far too much fabric, and viewed lots of great quilts. However I could not help but notice that there was a distinct lack of modern quilts on display. Sadly, I am not allowed to share any photos with you either as the organisers have brought in strict rules about not sharing photos on the internet.

But all is not lost, if you want to see loads of great quilts Amy, of Amy's Creative Side is hosting a Bloggers' Quilt Festival. You can view the quilts here and even enter if you are quick!




Also, do not forget the Harrogate Quilt Show 31st August - 2nd September, its our local show and I think we should enter some modern quilts don't you?

Closing date for entries is 5th July and  you can get an entry form here.

Fat Quarterly

We all like magazines right? But where do you find a magazine devoted to modern quilting, packed with inspiring projects and articles? Well, in my opinion you can't go far wrong with Fat Quarterly. It's an  emagazine aimed at modern quilters and I love it! To get a flavour of the magazine visit the blog page then check out the tutorials. 

Each issue has loads of projects on a theme such as 'Scraps', 'Fussy Cutting', 'Solids' and in the current issue 'Kids'. You can buy each issue, including back issues, individually for $8 or you can subscribe to 4 issues at a time for $28. In the current issue there are 17  quilt and sewing projects in a modern style plus several articles  a showcase of current fabrics, and a book review. The magazine can be viewed in a Flipbook format enabling pages to be turned on the screen and a one click zoom means you can see the text and pictures up close. You can also download the PDF version. Pages can be printed and the description of each issue on the site has sample pages to view before you buy.

2 of the 3 contents pages for issue 9

I was so impressed I decided to subscribe and within a few seconds of paying by Paypal I had automatically been logged in and had an email with my login details for future reference. Each issue also comes with a substantial list of discount vouchers for online fabrics stores ranging from 10 to 20% off purchases. Visit Trudi, The Prolific Quilter to see how she's making the most of her vouchers!

Now I just need to double the number of hours in every day to give me time to make some of these wonderful quilts! Let us know your favourite magazines, books and websites by leaving a comment below.

Hazel

P.S For Hexagon inspiration visit the Tuesday Quilters blog to see and read about Helene's amazing first quilt and how she swaps fabric with crafters around the world.

Quilting Modern Book Review

I was so excited when this book arrived from Amazon about 10 days ago and haven't stopped showing it to my quilting friends since! It's beautifully written and illustrated and has loads of inspiring techniques and projects. It covers 7 clever improvisational patchwork techniques and shows ways of applying those to quilt design.

The book is divided into eleven chapters and the first four are devoted to basic quilt making and design with advice on choosing tools and materials, actually sewing a quilt, choosing colours and backing and binding. All of this is very clearly laid out and explained with clear diagrams.

Chapters five to eleven are each devoted to an improvisational technique with basic instructions followed by three example projects. The techniques covered are:

Chapter 5: Free Piecing
Chapter 6: Improvisational Log Cabin
Chapter 7: Slice and Insert
Chapter 8: Stitch and flip triangles
Chapter 9: Strip piecing
Chapter 10: Modern crazy piecing
Chapter 11: Improvisational curves

The three projects in each chapter show how very different quilts can look using these techniques and range from full bed-sized quilts to cushions and table mats. Although the quilt projects can be completed exactly as the examples in the book the authors encourage you to have a go at creating your own designs too. Here are a few of my favourite quilts:

 I just love the simplicity of the black and grey and I'm itching to make my own version of this for one of the men in my life.

 Janet will tell you my usual reaction to the mention of 'crazy quilts' is the uttering of not very polite words - rather like her reaction recently to the mention of the word 'collage'!! The crazy piecing in this book is not at all like the Victorian examples to be found in museums and even I can see myself using this as in the beautiful quilt above.

 I enjoy piecing curves but they can be time consuming to cut and sew accurately. These improvised 'pods' are really fun to make.

Just to prove modern quilts do not have to have a large amounts of white or grey the last quilt in the book is a riot of colour - right up my street.

I was so enthused with the book I started straight away by making some improvised log cabin blocks using some hand dyed fabric I've been saving for a special project. I also tried the curved pods then used the scraps to make border strips:

I haven't pieced the blocks together yet (I got distracted this week by daughter's wedding planning) and I may add some more. I'll keep you posted on how I get on.

Anyway I can thoroughly recommend Quilting Modern and suggest you visit the author's blogs: Jacquie at Tallgrass Prairie Studio and Katie at Sew Katie Did to see more of their wonderful quilts.

Happy Stitching!

Hazel