Home Straight II

I've machined the binding onto the edge of the quilt this afternoon, and this evening I have been sitting in front of the television, hand-sewing it down.

It goes on a bit - but I am just over half way round, so another good session (or more likely two shorter ones), and I'll be done!

Binding...

...all cut, pieced, trimmed and pressed ready for sewing.

Home Straight!

I have finished quilting Spring Garden Trellis! Hurrah!

That's 20 flower motifs, 12 small circles, 18 pairs of leaves around the borders and 4 mini flowers in the corners. Of course, it has taken forever and a day, but I have enjoyed the journey immensely, and will not hesitate to embark on the next project with gusto.

All that remains to be done here, is to apply the binding. I did some sums, and I have enough of either the incredible shrinking cream fabric, or the dark yellow which is moonlighting in the Scatty Christmas Stars quilt, so which to choose?

Here is where Bilbo - as so often - is absolutely spot on with regard to quilting advice. She said,"As for binding, think of it as a picture frame. With that in mind the decision will make itself (probably!)"

Which it has without a doubt - laying out the trimmed quilt against both fabrics and it is obvious to me that it is the yellow option all the way.

I've just got to remember the binding lessons that I have learnt - for a start, I'll have to go back and check what width to cut the binding strips...

Corner Quilting

Just the other three corner motifs to quilt now, and then binding to finish.

So that means I will have to make my final decision for this quilt - what to use as binding?

I could use the incredible shrinking cream fabric (now washed and ironed, so hopefully no more shrinking), or the yellow of the skinny border (assuming I have enough) - there's going to be some measuring and maths going on later!

One to Go!

All but one of the leaf motifs are now completed, and the template for the corner flowers is cut out.

But I've done enough for tonight, and I do have some rather special bedtime reading lined up...

Looking Forward!

I'm galloping along with the leaf motifs now on Spring Garden Trellis (11 down, 7 to go), and I've even worked out how to quilt the small flowers for each corner - hurrah! Just the binding to decide on and sew, and that'll be that!

I'm now looking ahead to my next project, which the attentive will remember is planned to be a couple of smaller cat-sized quilts, with cat design.

However, I received a very exciting package through the post this morning, which means that the cat quilts are on the back burner, as I have a new project in mind.

Don't feel sorry for the cats - they'll cope, somehow...

Selective Memory!

I said the other day, "When I first thought about quilting Spring Garden Trellis, I......had a vague thought in my mind that I wanted use a leaf motif to quilt around the borders."

Oh no I didn't! Utter rubbish!

According to this post in April, I said, "I was thinking about half-flowers," after SewAli commented, "That's a great motif, you could go for something leafy around the border."

So thank you, Ali, for an excellent suggestion!

Border Quilting Decisions

When I first thought about quilting Spring Garden Trellis, I knew that I wanted to quilt flowers in the middle, and had a vague thought in my mind that I wanted use a leaf motif to quilt around the borders.

Mind you, once I found out what heavy going the flower motif quilting was, I very nearly changed my mind and decided to use a continuous pattern instead.

I stuck to my original plan though - I find that your first idea is most often the best one - and found a clipart leaf which I elongated and angled; and copied and flipped a second one, matched them up, and resized them.

I traced it onto translucent thick plastic flexible sheeting, cut round it - and voila - a template to use for the border quilting.

I traced round it with the airpen, and got quilting - the first off is here.

I'm rather pleased with it. Er - that's one down, seventeen to go...

A Pleasant Surprise!

Of course, I'd already taken a deep breath and started to quilt the tricky twelve circles between the flower motifs before I read Bilbo's rather excellent suggestion on the last post, "Consider a smaller 'flower' shape which compliments the bigger shape you've already done."

However - surprisingly - I didn't find them too difficult, and hopped from one circle to another and finished all twelve in two sessions earlier this week. I'm not saying that they are perfect circles, but not too shoddy, I think.

Next thing to mull over is how to quilt the border - and I have An Idea...

Ta Da!

...or At Long Bloody Last.

I've finished all twenty of the flower motifs on the Spring Garden Trellis quilt. Hurrah!

However, before any champagne corks are popped, it is worth remembering that I have twelve circles to quilt in the bits between the flowers, and then have to work out how to quilt the borders...

Christmas Quiltalong! July

I'm afraid that I have been rather late to the party this month, but Sue kindly emailed my this month's sixth and final star blocks yesterday, and I have been putting them together today.

These have been the most complicated to date - and the difficulty of putting them together has been exacerbated by the cream 'incredible shrinking fabric' which shrivels up at the merest hint of a warm iron. I am not unhappy about seeing the last of this, now all the star blocks are completed.

Excitement abounds for next month - we'll be putting together connector blocks which will involve new fabrics, and different cutting and piecing. Can't wait!

Fifteen Down, Five to Go

Slow quilting progress is not always my fault.

I know when to admit defeat.