Love Entwined 2: the Hand Sewn Top

After months of countless handwork, I wanted a post to document my completely hand sewn applique top before I quilted it. Hand sewing has definitely bonded me to this quilt in unexpected ways. We all know what a mysterious background it has and the constant wondering of the woman who designed it in the 1800's is always there, lurking n the background. And, true enough, each time I took up my top to sew a little more, there was always a brief thought of her, the unknown woman, as I set about completing her extraordinary motifs in the pattern. 

looking at it now, I can barely believe I did all this work!

I can tell just by looking at it, what time I did the work

The small neat stitches were made during the day, the larger looser stitches were made during the night, I have two stitch speeds, daytime and nighttime :)

now all that's left is to quilt it...

The original Love Entwined Coverlet was designed to revive interest in the lost original - a cause many quilters around the world took up - managing to finding the original and reigniting interest in it's origins by taking part in the pattern. Thanks to this effort, this design is no longer forgotten and by the looks of things, will be around for many more years. 

This second version LE2 is a focus on the original centre panel but as a wall hanging and is therefore much more achievable for many more quilters.

This pattern is currently not available, however I may make it available for publication in a magazine next year, depending on their interest to run it. My hopes are to have it published so that it may be professionally photographed - something I am unable to do myself.

I'll keep you posted..

Basting Love Entwined 2

Love Entwined 2 has been finished for weeks. The problem is, I haven't known what to do with it. As a coverlet, I don't want to quilt it. As a wall hanging, I know I'm going to have to.

Yesterday I basted it, all the while wondering what would enhance it's beauty without taking over from the design? LE2 is all about keeping in line with the original heirloom design and I've been thinking about how to quilt in line with that. I don't think I'm going to quilt my original Love Entwined Coverlet, but as this one will be hanging, I'm just going to have to move on from my indecision. Really, it should have been quilted and completed by now. And could have been. If only I wasn't so emotionally attached to this whole project.

All my Oma progress these last few weeks was me busying myself so I wouldn't have to make a decision on LE2! Ridiculous! 

So, how to quilt such a crowded applique coverlet without detracting from the hand sewn applique beauty?

Any ideas???

The Woe of Basting

Now that I'm finally making progress on my WIPs, there's another issue to face:

to baste or not to baste?

Frankly, of the whole process, basting is the only bit about quilting that I hate. It's the main reason my WIP pile is so big. I often leave quilts behind and move onto another project when I have to make a decision about whether or how to baste them.

I have basted several of my quilts using the 2 plank method and it does work - but it's tedious and I find it tiring. My planks are 5 inches wide and laminated wooden board - this makes them heavier than usual. I found them in my local hardware store, they're actually door frames. They work well to baste evenly, but are fatiguing -especially on lager quilts.

Lately I've found that most long arm quilters don't bother with a basting service as it's too much hassle for them. This is bad news for me as I really don't know how many extra quilts I have in me to baste by myself.

A few people have asked me how much I paid to baste Oma, I actually basted Oma's Blues myself. Normally, I pay from AU $80-$150 to baste a quilt. It depends on whether I buy my batting with them there or bring my own. I personally like Tucany Collection which can be silk or wool and comes rolled up in a package. I get the King size and it's imported from the USA. Most long arm quilters don't like me bringing my own batting because it's folded - which creates issues. They prefer their own batting as it's usually on larger rolls and comes off flatter and straighter - which means fewer issues. I completely understand where they are coming from, but I'm fussy and usually prefer my own selection to what's on offer.

Right now, with so many quilts to baste, I'm wondering how to get it all done. My preference is to have my tops basted with 1 inch horizontal lines. Most quilters prefer between 2 -4 inches apart. I like it closer as it means less movement. Obviously when I baste myself, I can't get it this precise.

This brings me back to considering not completing my quilts, but leaving many of them at the 'finished top' stage. If I was to baste all the quilts I could feasibly get ready for basting from my WIP pile right now, I'd be up for a thousand dollars in basting costs.

This means I'm going to have to prioritize which quilts I actually complete and which stay as tops alone. In an ideal world, there'd be a 'community long arm machine' somewhere out there I could rent by the day and that way I could just baste my heart out and get my WIPs done.

For now, I'll just pace myself and stick with finishing what I can.

How do you tackle basting?

Quilting Oma's Blues

I can hardly believe I'm up to this point of progress. Today I'm selecting which thread colour to quilt with and then it's just a matter of getting Oma quilted.

My favourite thread is Aurifil but my Bernina 820 doesn't like it, so I'm not yet sure which machine I'll actually quilt on or what thread I'll finally settle on. 

This is my quilting sampler below, it's just a quilt sandwich that I 'scribble' on, I always warm up my machine and try out ideas from my 'quilt map' before getting started on the actual quilt, free hand.

Here I go...

WOW: Magnolia in Bloom

WOW = WIPs On Wednesday

Down my way the magnolia's are in bloom. Whenever I see them, I am just so delighted with how wonderful they are to look at. It reminds me that I have an important WIP to finish - my quilt Forget Me Not. I still haven't got that quilt top together, which is such a shame as I can't enjoy all the floral blocks if they aren't hanging on my wall! Here's my almost finished magnolia block, sitting around waiting to be quilted. 

I suppose this is what WOW is all about - WIP reminders. Now this quilt is on my mind whenever I look out the window. It doesn't look like I'll have a chance to get it done before this year is out, but at least it's not completely forgotten. 

I'd love to know, what triggers your own WIP reminders?

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

Oma's Blues: Part 9 is Launched

This month we are assembling all the blocks so far 

and adding the two mitred borders 5 & 6

The year is just flying by and Oma's Blues is looking like a quilt about to be finished!

I've been making this quilt and following the pattern out of turn due to my busy schedule and this means I finally caught up in August for Part 8 which was great, and now I am ahead and already working on what will be released as Part 10 next month.

I mention this because I know some of you might be confused after having seen my Border Corner Plates as I shared the progress of my making it right here on my blog. I apolagise to anyone who might not want to see future blocks out of turn, but for everyone else, you are edging ever closer to the beautiful corner plates and near completion of your quilt!

This BOM is being released for free on a monthly basis. However, quilters are able to buy the complete pattern any time they want (from the first day of release) over in my shop. So there may be other 'advanced' Oma's Blues out there. If there are, I hope you'll be confident to share your work, whatever stage you are up to. There are no 'rules' that you can only show what the current BOM month releases. All quilt images from and at any stage of progress are most welcome!

I have sold some Oma's earlier in the BOM...and I do wonder where they are?!

Happy quilting everyone, I'm really delighted to be sharing this quilt with you and to be able to share in and enjoy your progress- whatever stage you're up to. Here's where I am up to below. My quilt is currently basted and ready for quilting, can't wait to show you more as I progress.

Oma's Blues is my current FREE BOM. 

You can still join this free BOM right now - all parts are available over in my Group.

Di Ford's New Beauties!

I was on the way home from the hairdresser with my DD on Saturday when I decided to pop into Somerset Patchwork & Quilting store. It was on our way home anyway, and although I hadn't been planning on any more fabric shopping this year, I was hoping that some of Di Ford's beautiful new range would be available. Strictly just so I could have a look for myself. Well, once I'd set eyes on it, it was mine.

I went for this minty colour, it just spoke to me. I thought I would swoon for the red (and it's just as beautiful) but I feel that I have too many red projects on at the moment, and none in mint, so I opted for a whole new scheme to freshen up my ideas.

I have no idea what to do with this selection. At the moment I have it spread across a table and just lovingly look at it each time I pass. I know I didn't need more fabric, but sometimes I feel that a range comes out that must be had. I feel that way about this range.

And another thing, is it just me or are 'second prints' just not the same? I know I've purchased ranges on the second print and I've never thought they were as good as the first. What is that about?! This time around, I wasn't taking any chances.

Some stash busting rules are made to be broken, that's all I can say.