I got a chance to play with my new Silhouette Cameo (affiliate link) this weekend, cutting some simple flowers.
These are flowers I drew myself in the Silhouette software, which was very easy to do. There was a bit of a learning curve, but it all made sense once I saw a couple of videos. I must say, thank goodness for those how-to videos, as my attention span for absorbing any written instructions is extremely short these days. Guess it's a result of all these new electronic gadgets!
Anyway, the fabric was prepared for fusing with Wonder-Under, as these flowers are going to be completely fused to the Modern Grace quilt top.
In the software, the cuts were arranged to make the best use of the fabric, with all the centers in a row for placement of a different fabric on the mat so that I wouldn't have to run it through twice.
Within a minute, it was all cut! This is what's left on the mat after removing the waste fabric.
Aren't they cute? Now onto arranging them on the quilt for fusing!
Sorry, you're just going to have to wait till I get it quilted before I show it all off!
I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out, and I see great possibilities for cutting in the future. There's just so much versatility! If you have one of these machines, or have been thinking about getting one, this is a great use for it.
Happy Quilting!
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Has it really been two weeks since I last posted??? Makes me sad to think I haven't been quilting that much, as I didn't think it had been that long. I started working on the free Glam Clam pattern from Latifah Saafir, and using the Curve Master foot. (affiliate link) I was making mine in yellows for a baby quilt, and finished sewing the clams by the next day.
Unfortunately, the applique and quilting got delayed a bit, but the whole quilt got finished up today.
Here's a full quilt picture.
The bees are in a hive full of honey, or they are on top of a flower seeking nectar. Either way, they're pretty cute!
For the quilting, I did an open stipple all over with yellow Glide thread, then outlined the bees with Sulky invisible polyester monofilament. First time I've used that on my Innova, and had no problems. Here's the back, a nice soft yellow flannel.
And as for the bees, they're my own creation, in two versions.
Happy Quilting!
Today, we received some much needed rain, meaning that it was a great reason to stay in and sew! And after a bumpy start, I have the November Book of the Month quilt, Modern Grace from Supersize 'Em, (affiliate link) almost done.
Note to self: make sure to have the fabric if it is definite part of the design!
My first bump was finding a large B+W floral print, which I purchased (gasp!) specifically for this project. I then figured I had enough of a stash to fill in the rest.
The next bump was finding a bold B+W stripe. Couldn't find any until I happened to be in a LQS for another reason, but by then it was too late, as I had made my own. Just sewed 1 1/2" strips of black and white together, then cut the widths that I needed.
The third bump was the worst. I pulled out several purple fabrics for the border, and one worked really well.
But, alas, not enough! I then spent several hours trying to figure out what to use/do instead. In desperation, I searched through my kid fabric bins for any purple, still nothing. But what's that purple in the Falling Leaves pile over there?
Would it work? Thankfully, it was the right color, the right value, and had some black in it. Hallelujah!!! Relief!
Now that all the fabric decisions were settled, I set in sewing, and had the majority of the top done in about four hours. Definitely an easy, fast pattern with a lot of impact. I would do this one again, with better planning next time, of course.
And the last thing to add are the applique purple flowers in the corners,
and I'm waiting for my new Silhouette Cameo cutting machine for those. Gives me a reason to play!
I've debated whether nor not to commit to a December Book of the Month, as I have a lot of projects that need finishing. But the need to replace my autumn hutch runner from my Sewing Diamonds class
with one for the holidays may get the better of me. Guess I'll have to look at my books for ideas and inspiration.
Hope you had a great day quilting!
Happy Thanksgiving to all! And I have my beautiful Falling Leaves quilt to show, perfect for the season.
Got it done just before red and green take over our lives, so excuse the reindeer in the background!
Here's a couple quilting closeups.
The leaf pattern was stitched in both the cream area and the more colorful areas, following the zigzag of the quilt top. This pattern is one I created from two existing pantos, Fall Leaves and Fall Oak Leaves,
specifically to fit the zigzag space.
The colorful zigzag was wider, and required some fill, but a flowing line of curls solved that problem.
And on a previous post, I showed how I quilted it from the front of the machine. Worked great, just wish I could have completed the quilt in a day, versus a row today, a couple rows the next day, etc. Found I was always double checking the panto placement because of laser light movement. But I'd still try following a design from the front again.
Not to be forgotten is the back.
Four yards of fabric, stitched with a band in between the selvage edges provided the length I needed.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
I'm going to try my best to complete a Book of the Month quilt this November, with the help of Supersize 'Em by Debby Kratovil. (affiliate link)
I have a lot of commitments this month, the biggest one moving my mother into my house. I've spent two days trying to get a room ready, including painting, but stubborn Sharpie marks will not go away. So far, 3 coats of primer, one of latex color, and another 2 of a different primer.
Sure the yellow of the balls is covered, but the black just won't go away. Maybe I needed to get the oil based primer. Hopefully I'll have better luck tomorrow. Just a note, do not use Sharpie on your walls!
Anyway, back to quilting. There are several patterns in the book that look interesting, and here's a sampling.
This pretty one with hearts, though I don't think I've got time for it. And this one with daisies,
but I'll have to see if I have any black and white flower fabric.
Then there's these
both star based, and very pretty, so a good possibility. And this one, which could use up my stash nicely.
Which one would you pick?
Happy Quilting!
Diamond Chips is off the frame!
Quilted on fleece, with one layer of fleece folded over for the binding, I'm calling it a finish!
There are several recent teaser pictures on the quilting, but for a tutorial on the panto, see Tulle, My New Tool, plus this one on it's construction, Diamond Progress.
Here's more detail quilting pictures. The in-progress teaser pictures should now make sense.
Ruler work, freehand, and a panto were used on the quilting.
See, a panto doesn't have to be across the whole top.
Hope this inspires you on your next quilting adventure!
Yes, tulle is the newest tool in my quilting arsenal.
Plain, fine tulle is what I used to transfer the panto design to an odd shaped area. I knew I couldn't do the design from the back of the machine and get it to stop and start where I wanted, nor could I do that from the front. So, I bit the bullet and decided to transfer the design with a washout marker.
Yes, a washout marker. Don't worry, I tested it on a scrap, letting it stay there for a week, and it washed right out.
To get the design on the tulle, a black sharpie was used to trace the design, with a piece of tissue paper between the original paper panto and the tulle, so that there were no stray marks on the original. And two layers of tulle were used, so that I could see the design. I had discovered on another project that one layer was not enough to see the markings.
Then using that washout marker, I happily marked away. Took maybe an hour, but the quilting was so easy!
If you look real close, you can see the faint blue line in with the stitching and without. Haven't washed it out yet, and I'm not worried.
And here's a picture of what I'm doing around the diamonds.
More diamonds! With stippling as the fill. I don't know about you, but I like stippling. Some think it's old fashioned, but it really serves a purpose. And when I was cake decorating, this fill was called Cornelli lace.
Have a wonderful day quilting!
Time keeps marching along, and it's now September! Where has this year gone? I feel I haven't accomplished all I've wanted to this year, but when I look back, I've done a lot. I'll continue working towards my goals, with one of those being to make something from all the quilt books I own. With that, I'm introducing the September Book of the Month, Sizzling Quilts from a Simple Block by Anita Hallock (affiliate link)
It was a tough choice this month, but eventually I'll get to the other books than were second choices. I'm hoping to use up some of the older stash this month--it's bogging me down.
As are the scraps. How is it that they just keep growing? I think I've used some up, but the pile doesn't get any smaller! Ugh! But at least I got the scrap quilt top done.
I tried setting them on yellow, which could have worked, but it was just okay. Then I found this dark blue fabric with the same blue blocks on it as mine,
and thought, perfect, time to use it up! And that I did. This is all I have left.
More scraps. Such is the life of a quilter!
To make this top a bit bigger, I added a frame around each scrappy block.
If I were to have planned this out better, I would have used a darker blue in the center of each scrappy block, instead of white. But it's done now. And the top measures in at 45 1/2" x 45 1/2", a good baby quilt size.
Now to get it on the frame today for a freehand all over design. Quilting pictures to follow!
Happy Quilting!
