free-motion bunnies ~

Bunny poses ~ 

up close at bunnies.... 

Lady Murasaki ~ upside down 

Scrapper's Delight ~ without binding

Quilting done on my darling daughter's 1st quilt. It required tracing bunny shapes, lots of thread tension issues and fatigued arms, but I love it and more importantly so does she. What doesn't show is the quilting on the hot pink flannel. I made a random grass pattern studded with dandelions. Many apologies to the designers of Lady Murasaki, my daughter insisted that the back be oriented in this way!

Now for the interview that I have been wanting to do:

Interview with a 10 year old quilter

What did you like about quilting?

 Ironing the squares and using the lavender spray starch. Smells so good.

What was hard?

At the beginning, when I was learning how to sew, it took me 4 hours to make the first block. The more I did it the easier it became and the last 3 blocks took me only 15 minutes.

Would you recommend this project to someone your age?

I would recommend this to my friends to see what colors would choose the most.

 Do you have any upcoming projects?

Santa bunny hat for my rabbit and I would like to create a Minecraft quilt.

What's your favorite color?

Purple, I chose this color for the binding of my quilt. 

What is your favorite fabric in the quilt?

Hot pink flannel used for the back/front, depending on how you look at it.

I would like to thank my bunny Splat for the inspiration for this quilt.
C~

Now for the binding ~ more pictures to come

quilting bunnies ~

sketched bunnies ~

stitching ~

need more practice!

Quilting bunnies is harder than I thought...at least for me. The thread that my daughter picked out, which is a wonderful variegated expensive brand, kept breaking. Not to mention some of my bunnies are not pleasantly stitched, for lack of better phrasing. I am noticing that while I am free-motion quilting, the shadows from the light of the machine and room cause me to lose sight of the lines of the bunnies. arghhh! 

Pause ~ time to make a trip to the fabric store for the thread I usually work with, in a color other than white. 

We have a big week . Family coming to town, banquets to honor the girls scholastic achievements and finally graduation. Last evening we had the pleasure of attending the 71st Anniversary celebration of the Battle of Midway aboard the USS Midway. This was an opportunity offered to 20 high school students and they needed parent chaperons so I was able to attend as well. We were treated to stories of bravery, battle and  loss. It was a great reminder of the freedoms that I enjoy everyday. We enjoy an education, life without fear and our hobbies all because of those who serve our nation. It was a night to remember. 

Finished Friday ~ Winter Fields quilt

I found a tutorial on Quilts by Rosemary via Molly Flanders pinterest, using Press n Seal, tracing the pattern, then placing it on your quilt and stitching away. The plastic gave me more control of the quilt and the curves and loops flowed smoothly through the machine. I also left the feed dog up and the stitches are more uniform and only a couple of skips. Always learning something new with each quilt.  

 

 

 

 

it does require tweezers 

The only draw back to this method is picking all the plastic wrap our of the stitches. It did not disturb the threads, it was just time consuming.

For a break I stitched the binding on.

Here is the top sans plastic wrap

and the bottom with darling daughter that pieced all the squares together using her Hello Kitty sewing machine. A belated quilt for my husband for Christmas. I am so glad he came into the quilt shop and spied this pattern. The flannels, wools and free-hand motion quilting were all enjoyable and came together nicely.

in progress ~

gathers using zigzag and floss
leftover binding

towel purchased in Kauai

trims Momen+ and Anthropologie

Free-hand motion quilting ~ scary

Hello again! been gone a couple of weeks doing family stuff and now I am back home. We have had a long hot summer then all of a sudden Fall arrived overnight. Black billowy clouds rolled in last night, the air was crisp and the wind blew. It is officially sock wearing weather.

So it is time to tackle a fear of free-hand motion quilting. I know practice makes perfect but I like these quilts so much and I do not want to ruin them with sloppy stitches. I will try a stipple stitch for an all over quilted effect.

While up in Long Beach for a debate tournament, for my girls, I took a quick trip to Momen+ to stock up on trims and fabric. If you are ever in the Torrance area stop by. It is the cutest store with the nicest people. 

So time to get out our jeans, sweatshirts and socks ~ I am so excited ~ and dig out our family's favorite fall and winter recipes.

Happy Fall

girls week ~

chocolate chip waffles  with strawberries and powdered sugar

my first free-hand motion flower ~ :(

it got easier ~ ; )

 I will be stepping away from this space for a week for debate tournaments and a little road trip to visit colleges with the girls. I couldn't leave until I shared my first free-hand motion quilting project.

I was disappointed, frustrated and thought what a big mistake it was to purchase a new sewing machine. The stitches are so close together that I think that first flower could perforate right out. After walking away for some time and thinking, I came back and began again, easier and easier. I did have some help. I purchased 2 books on the subject, Beginner's Guide to Free-Motion Quilting by Natalia Bonner & Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters. Lovely books. 

On a piece of graph paper I drew out the quilt design then played around with ideas from both books. And I thought choosing fabric was hard. Nothing seemed to work until I was able to see that the 9-patch squares had a lot of negative space. A single loop for each petal was too plain, the double loop was just right.

So in between rounds of debate, for which I am a judge, I will stitch the binding. Now to plan out the next free-hand motion design on my finished quilts ~ either Rain or Shine pattern by Elizabeth Hartman or Modern Workshop pattern by Oliver & S. These quilt tops have been waiting......

And about the first picture ~ Darling daughter #3 made us chocolate chip waffles with strawberries one fine morning ~ sweet!

Have a great weekend