Another new project.....

After all the excitement of finishing two projects last week, I don't have quite as much to show you this time.  I have started on a new little 'art' quilt project which is taking shape quite nicely.  This is how it is looking so far....

As well as that, I have managed to keep up with adding the latest stitches to the 'Sew Simple Things Sampler' designed by Serena Boffa Soda of La Casetta Nel Bosco.  I really love this little sampler and I can't wait to add the next new stitch which will be released tomorrow.

On the subject of keeping up, I haven't been very good at keeping up with the monthly blocks of Gail Pan's wonderful i-stitch-club BOM.

The stitcheries are really sweet and a lot of fun to work and, I even have all the designs traced out onto my back ground fabric ready for stitching but, I just don't seem to have had the chance to get to them yet.

I did manage to get another of the February blocks appliqued into place, so I am making a little progress!!

Until next time, I hope you are enjoying some sunshine! 

Some finished projects to show you....

I am very excited today to show you the result of the 'experiment' that I wrote about in my last post.  I had such a lot of fun adding free motion applique/embroidery details to this little piece of patchwork that I had previously quilted.

After adding the applique shapes to the altered background, I set about free motion embroidering over the applique shapes to add detail and definition to the shapes.  This is not as easy as it sounds.

I originally added the detail to the seed heads in a green thread to match the fabric that I had used for the applique which looked quite nice to start with. 

However, once I had added the details to the leaves in brown,

the green didn't look quite right, so I had to add some brown to them as well.

I then added some extra details, including the butterflies and the sequin 'berries' and I am really happy now with the end result.  So happy in fact, that I started another quilt made in a similar way.

This one I pieced together using some lovely hand-dyed fabrics which I bought from the In Stitches Studio.  They are just perfect for making this sort of quilt. I then quilted the background with wavy lines using my walking foot.

Then the fun started!! I added some simple 'poppy' applique shapes, including a bud and some seed heads and then filled in the details using free motion embroidery.  

Finally, I added some hand stitching to complete the centres of the poppies and the flight paths of the butterflies.

I am really enjoying exploring these techniques and can't wait to get started on my next project!!

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a creative week!

Working on something new....

For some little while now I have had an idea floating round in the back of my mind that I have been wanting to try.  Well, you know how it is, life is busy and the idea gets pushed to the back of your mind but, it keeps popping back up, reminding you that it needs some attention.  So I have finally given my idea some attention.

My first landscape quilt

I just love all the different styles of textile art and quilts that you see on the internet.  There are some seriously talented people about!  One style that I particularly like are landscape quilts and you may recall that I tried one of those fairly recently and told you about it in my last post. I will definitely be trying another at some stage too. Another style that I really like are the more abstract pieces which often feature flowers or seed heads and I have been itching to have a go at one.

Practice quilt (including butterfly design)

At the end of last week I sorted out a small free-motioned quilt that I had made as a practice piece to audition quilting designs for a larger quilt that I was making for a friend. I had thought that this little practice piece would make the perfect back drop for some applique which could be quilted over and turned into a textile art quilt (well, that was the plan but it is a bit of an experiment!) 

Quilted butterfly

The small quilt was already quilted but, one of the designs was a butterfly which I didn't really want in the background of what I was planning.  So the first thing I had to do was unpick the butterfly quilting.  I then re-quilted the area with the same background pattern that I had quilted the rest of the quilt with.

Practice quilt with background requilted
and applique shapes added

Now I have added some applique shapes and the idea is that I will quilt over the applique to create seed heads and leaves.  So far I have just quilted over one of the seed head pieces but, I am really enjoying myself and I like the results so far!  I'll let you know how the experiment progresses!

Applique seed head with quilted detail 

In the meantime, I have also finished stitching the next stitch to be added to the 'Sew Simple Things Sampler' designed by Serena Boffa Soda of La Casetta Nel Bosco.  I am really loving the pretty design.

Thank you for visiting and have a lovely week.

A few things finished (well nearly!)...

Hello! I am a bit late posting this week, I had been trying to get into the habit of posting every Monday but, I had visitors staying this weekend, so I didn't get the chance to get to my computer.... until now!  While on the subject of computers, some of you may know (if you have your own blogs) that there seems to be a problem with Blogger sending through comment notifications.  Apparently it is due to be sorted out, but until it is, I will respond to any comments you leave me (thank you very much!) here under the post where you leave the comment.

Anyway, I hope you all had a lovely weekend.  The weather was lovely here although we did have quite a big thunderstorm one night!  So, what have I been up to?  Well, I haven't had time for a huge amount of sewing but, I did add the next stitch to my 'Sew Simple Things Sampler' designed by Serena Boffa Soda of La Casetta Nel Bosco.

I also made a few (10) little tissue sachets for a friend who had asked me to make them for her.  They are currently on their way to her new home, so I hope she likes them when they get there!!

Lastly, I have nearly finished my miniature landscape quilt which, I am quite pleased with for a first attempt. The main reason this isn't completely finished is that I spent hours procrastinating over which fabric to use for a binding.  In the end, I decided to try out something I have been meaning to try for some little while.... facing a quilt.  I watched various videos on how to face a quilt on YouTube before taking the plunge and giving it a try.

Facing a quilt means that you have no binding showing on the front of the quilt as it is all pulled round to the back.  It is slightly easier than adding the binding as you add four individually cut strips which don't need to be joined before stitching to the quilt and there is no need to mitre the corners.  I haven't finished stitching mine to the back yet but I hope to get that done this week. Nice to have an alternative finish to use for a quilt project!