The Meadow Beyond Grandmother's Garden

Thanks to the gods of weather for smiling at Dublin fair city today! Lots of sun (probably too much for a good shot) and here we go:

Somehow the mood of quilt chimes in with the mood of the day, with the daffodils opening all around and the grass greener than ever.

The whole idea was inspired by the pretty green fabric with itsy-bitsy flowers:

I have mentioned before that this project started about half a year ago, but I then realized that the first flowers were made last April, so that's more like year really. I don't like projects that long, so I decided agains hand-appliqueing the flowers to the background and instead machine stitched them down to the assembled quilt sandwich, to avoid additional stitching lines when quilting.

So, the only thing left was to quilt the background. As this quilt is not intended for show or something, just for pure FUN, I thought I'd practice my "blended quilting" or "freeform quilting" or whatever you choose to call it. The idea was to use small-scale patterns between the flowers and larger ones in the free space. It didn't quite work out like that, as it was difficult to judge the spacing and scale when the thing was crumpled under the machine arm. However, I did practice a couple of large feathers and spirals and some kind of flowers.

So, that's finally done and now I can't wait to start a new project, that's been waiting around for some time.

Linking up to Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
Free Motion Mavericks at Lizzy Lenard Vintage Sewing
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New Beginnings

It's been a long while since I have written anything in the blog, but I have two excuses for it, and I have something new to show as well.

The first excuse is that we have moved home in January, and everything is still a bit of a mess. One of the great things about the new place is an extra bedroom which became my sewing room! It's tiny and  somewhat dark and it still needs storage, but it's all mine, which is super cool.

That's about all there is to it - an ironing board, a table and a design wall.

The second excuse is that I went back to school - started a Graphic Design course at the Dublin Institute of Design, which means I now have homework to do! = less time for quilting :((

I used the transition period to finish the handwork that has been in the making for about half a year - a bunch of EPP flowers in three sizes and three designs.

Bright, happy and fun like a box of candy ;)))

The idea was to play with the different shapes and sizes to create something beyond grandmother's garden, something like a sun-lit summer meadow. The layout took a lot of experimenting and progressed from something like this...

... to something like this:

I think this has a bit more drama. I'm working on finishing it now and hope to be able to present it in a couple of days, provided the weather permits taking pictures outside (don't know where exactly - miss the old fence).

Linking up to Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts

Little Mermaid iPad Case

A quick little Friday finish - a case for my kids' iPad.

I made the EPP appliqué when preparing this post about using freezer paper, so you can see the progress photos there. I love using EPP elements for framing fussy-cut images, it's so much more fun than just a square frame! Besides, this pink fabric when cut to small pieces creates a gem-like effect, which seems appropriate for a little mermaid))

I added polyester batting to make the case extra comfy and cosy for the iPad (which is mostly used by the kids, so gets some rough treatment at times). There was no need for quilting, but I though some hand stitches would add a nice touch.

It also has a detachable strap for carrying around.

Linking up to Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts

Off the Wall Friday at Creations by Nina-Marie

Three Ways I Used Freezer Paper in One Quilt

I mentioned before that, finishing the bubbles quilt (which I eventually named "Color of Lightness, Color of Joy"), I realized that I had used freezer paper in three different ways in the process of making it. That's a good illustration of its versatility and usefulness for the quilt-building industry! And that's by no means an exhaustive list, I personally use it in two different ways for hand appliqué and for curved piecing as well (but that's a different story). As I didn't plan to write about it when I started I don't have all of the process photos, but I made a mock-up to fill in the gaps))

1. Freezer Paper for English Paper Piecing

Unbearable Lightness

My first hand-quilted piece is finished!

It has been a fun journey that started with a piece of fabric with bubbles on it, which I bought just because I liked the colors and for a long time could'n figure out what to do with. I didn't want to cut it up into small pieces))

The next step was playing with triangle-graphed paper, sketching some possible designs for English paper piecing. When I drew a couple of intersecting circles, they reminded me of bubbles and I immediately thought of that fabric. After finalizing the design and choosing the rainbow fabrics, I started the EPP. It's interesting to consider that all in all in this project I used freezer paper in three different ways, and each time it made the process so much easier. I think I'll have to write a special post about it ;))

Anyway, the finished EPP shape was appliquéd to the pieces of background and then I thought (as I wrote previously) that it had so much handwork in it already that it would be a shame to machine quilt it. Thus, I embarked on my first hand quilting adventure. I decided to quilt circles in variegated thread - another way to represent bubbles (which makes it a triple bubble quilt - I first wanted to name it Double Bubble, but the quilting ruined the pun)))

This photo has more shadows and so the quilting relief is more visible

Even while I was quilting I started looking for a suitable binding - something that wouldn't "promote" just one of the colors, but would have some variation and some fun in it as well. I had no luck in several shops until I decided to visit a sale at Fabric Matters, a nice little shop in the opposite end of Dublin from where I live))) The trip was well worth it, as I not only found the perfect binding for this quilt, but also binding for another WIP and generally stocked up on beautiful fabrics for planned projects at a discount, which just warms my heart)))

Here is another view with more shadows, to make the quilting stand out. See how the binding picks up the colors from the background? It has almost all of the colors in the quilt, except orange. By the way, the stitch that attaches the binding on the right side is the only machine stitch in the quilt, in the back the binding is hand-stitched))

I think I'll call it "Unbearable Lightness", though it's not final yet.

So, now I'll link it up to Let's Bee Social and Fabric, Thread and Yarn and on to work at another near-finish.

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Throwback Thursday - The Sunny Sampler

When I came across the Throwback Thursday link-up in my wonderings through quilt-blogland, I thought it was a great idea, because I made most of my quilts before I started the blog. It would be fun to share some of them with the online community and I think it makes sense to start from the beginning - with my officially first quilt I made in a basic patchwork course I took at the Silk Road craft school in Kharkov, Ukraine.

I have so many fond memories connected with that course, my group mate Olya and our wonderful teacher Svetlana - it's impossible to recount everything, I'll just show you some of the blocks. 

Basically, in each 3-hour class we studied one technique, made one 30 cm block, and then could practice this technique at home, making another block or two.

We started with the simplest: learning how to use mat, ruler and cutter by cutting some random strips and piecing them together. They were intentionally "scrappy" not to stress out too much about precision in the beginning:

No-rules hand quilting

In the beginning of May I set myself a goal for this month - to try hand quilting for the first time and cope with at least 1/8 of this quilt. Although I still have a lot of doubts about what I am doing, I think the goal is achieved more than enough - in fact, I quilted about half of it:

My fingers hurt, but I'm proud of myself - I thought it would take me ages!

As I only wanted to try hand quilting and wasn't sure I would ever want to repeat the experience, I didn't want to buy a quilting hoop and used the technique I heard about before - when the needle slides along the table or another hard surface under the quilt. It results in longer stitches than classical hand-quilting. As far as I understand, something like this is called "big stitch quilting", but big stitches usually mean using thicker thread. I was only able to find a suitable variegated thread in machine quilting cottons, so my stitches are both long and thin:

For comparison: the hexagon side is 1 1/4' (And the big blue stitches are basting - yes, I baste my quilts the old-fashioned way)))

On the other hand, they have some of the ethereal quality that is characteristic for soap bubbles )))

I also broke the rules by not following a pattern or the pieced shapes in my quilting design, in fact I used several freezer paper circles that I ironed to the quilt here and there and just stitched around. The effect of this is that instead of enhancing the patchwork shapes, the quilting kind of dissolves them, makes them softer:

I'm sorry the light in the photos is different (and neither of them quite true, I'm afraid), but I hope you can see what I mean. I'm still not sure whether this is good or bad, but the quilt is about bubbles and bubbles are supposed to move at random, so any organized quilting seemed at odds with the main idea.

I'm also not sure if I have done enough quilting - in places it' quite dense, but there are also empty areas about two inches long and almost as wide. I desperately need advice from experienced hand quilters, I'm going to take it to the IPS meeting, but would also welcome any comments with quilting advice!

Another question open for discussion is what kind of binding to choose for it. I don't have anything suitable in my stash, so will have to look for something.

So, whith mixed feelings of pride and doubt I'm linking this to the blogs that motivated me to set and achieve this goal:

BraveQuilter at Pink Doxies

One Monthly Goal at Red letter Quilts

New to me in 2016 at Celtic Thistle Stitches

Fabric, Thread and Yarn at France Nadeau

Being brave and setting goals for May

I'm discovering lots of interesting things that are going on in the world of quilting/blogging/exhibiting online. And I'm so excited I really want to have a finger in each and every pie))

For now, I'll try to join some link-ups and publicly set a May goal for myself (because I very convenietly have had it, just didn't tell anyone): I want to try hand-quilting.

It feels intimidating even to write it, but I have the finished top which already has so much handwork in it, that I (recklessly) decided to hand-quilt it, although I've never tried it before and haven't even seen anybody do it in real life. Besides, I have received this week the variegated thread I ordered specifically for this purpose. And I also have the backing and the batting, so no excuses left (maybe except time, of which we all never have enough)))

This is the project I'm talking about, and it's rather large - 130 by 75 cm, if I remember right:

I set myself the goal of starting to hand-quilt it (say, make at least 1/8) in May. 

I'm taking part at 

• the #BraveQuilter linkup by Pink Doxies
• the One Monthly Goal by Red Letter Quilts
• the Fabric frenzy Friday by Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Wish me luck!

Why every quilter needs an ongoing EPP project

Here's why:

• it's really easy to make - you only need to remember one or two basic stitches you were probably taught by your granny or primary school teacher
• it's super flexible - if you start a pillow case and change your mind, you can make it a mug rug, or a potholder, or just an appliqué element for another q
• it helps you improve your color sense - you can immediately see how fabrics are working (or probably not working) together;
• it's wonderfully thrifty - you can use up your scraps or, if you haven't got any, you can cut up your man's favorite old shirt or the dresses your kids have outgrown
• most importantly, it's compact - you can do it on the train, on the playground, waiting in a queue or on those occasions when your family insist that your sewing table is in fact the dining table

In a line, it's F-U-N. And its so much more than your grandmother's flower garden.

Here is my current English Paper Piecing which I mostly do in the evenings, watching a movie or just chatting to my husband.

So, come on, let's go beyond your grandmother's flower garden!