Picture finished 2014 - Part 2

The last of my 2014 finished quilt is a riot of colours.  This was a commissioned quilt for a friend who will be gifting this quilt to one of her close friend.  The theme was bright, bold and colourful with a dash of leopard print in the quilt.  I knew immediately that I wanted to use fabrics from Anna Maria Honner.

I have longed admired fabrics designed by Anna Maria Honner and was looking for a project that I could use bright and bold prints.  I am so grateful that this commissioned quilt came into my path and I have enjoyed every moment piecing this quilt together.

I have opted for a no binding finish which I absolutely love and hope to do more quilts in this way. Wool tassels has been added as embellishment to the quilt making it feel like a flying magic carpet.

A close up of the quilt will reveal cheerful and bright saturated colours.  I have added some flying geese in orange, red and raspberry solids, and polka dots in black with gold and bubblegum provided interesting details to the simple quilt.

Majority of the prints are from Field Study with some Pretty Potent and Loulouthi prints mingled among it.

The quilt is kept secured between layers by hand-stitched tiny X's at regular intervals.

I have enjoyed designing this quilt from pattern to finish and  I hope you have enjoyed this picture finished blog post.

Happy Quilting!

Quilt facts:

Quilt pattern: Bind Quilt

Quilt finished size: 48" x 60"

Fabric: Field Study, Pretty Potent & Loulouthi by Anna Maria Honner; Confetti Sparkle in Black by Dear Stella House Designer; Dark Raspberry & Orange solid by American Made Brand Cotton Solids, Red solid by Hawthorne Hues and Small Spots in Bubblegum bu Robert Kaufmman.

Backing fabric: Summer Totem in Tart, Loulouthi series by Anna Maria Honner

Tassels: Hand made wool tassels in burnt orange.

Sew Along

Flowering Snowball Quilt

I have always wanted to participate in a sew along but I have never had the time due to school and work commitments.  However, I couldn't resist this Flowering Snowball Along organised by the very talented Mary at Molly Flanders Makerie

Sewing curves has been on my 'To learn' list so I thought this would be a great way to conquer my fear of it.  Mary has a great tutorial on it and once I sewed my first curve, I was hooked!  It wasn't as scary as I had imagined it to be.  Following it step by step made it easy so I didn't freaked out about it.  If you have always wanted to try to sew curves and have put it off because you fear it... I encourage you to try this.  This sew along has broaden my quilting technique and style.  Now to find some time to hand quilt this during summer holidays.

After conquering my fear of curves, on my list of 'To make' quilt is a Glam Clam quilt which I can't wait to tackle now that I have gained some confidence in sewing curves.

Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend ahead.

Jacqueline
xx

Hand Quilting

I found a great tutorial on hand quilting by Sarah Fielke whom was a co-author of my favourite quilt book titled Material Obsession.  As mentioned, this book has inspired me on many levels with my love for quilting, hand quilting being one of it.  I had hand quilted a few quilts, of which consisted of 2x baby, 1x lap and 2x queen sizes (one queen being work in progress).  I have only started machine quilting recently and I have to agree with Sarah that the 'look' and 'feel' of a hand quilted quilt feels more personal and warm in comparison to one that was machine quilted.  However, having said that, I have also found some simple machine quilted quilts that have worked wonders to the look of a quilt for example quilts by Rita at Red Pepper Quilts.

As a beginner to the quilting world, I think it is inspirational to have examples of different quilting methods/techniques so that we can experiment with it.  I feel this helps me in the process of finding my own rhythm and style, and to understand what enhances the design of the quilt.

Hand quilted quilts:

Sabela's Quilt

Olivia's Quilt

Lan's Quilt

Saskia's Quilt

Summer Loving Quilt (work in progress)

Hand quilting tutorial:

Sarah Fielke

A Quilt for Childhood Memories

Childhood Quilt

Carol and I have been friends since we were toddlers.  We went to the same kindergarten, primary and high school.  Our parents are neighbors till this day, and although I no longer lived with my parents or in the same country, we still remained great friends.  Carol and I share a passion for craft since we were kids.  We did art classes together, often spent time talking and making craft stuff, and bounce interesting craft ideas of each other.  She is a beautiful person with a lot of patience, sweet nature and has great ideas for anything everything crafty.

I used the humble HST to make a simple configuration to reflect on the innocence and non-complicated life that we felt as children back then.  Our childhood was filled with lots of play, crafts and tea-parties with our teddy bears and dolls in the garden, and many other simple pleasures in life!  

The overall quilt has a nostalgic childhood feel to it.  It reminds me of how the days used to passed by so slowly and every play time felt like an adventure or a craft idea to be discovered.  I can imagine us as kids using this quilt as our play mat, building a tent out of it, or using it as a picnic rug for our tea parties.

I made this quilt to thank her for her support in every part of my journey, for the endless creative ideas that we have both shared and will still continue to share, and most of all for our beautiful childhood and friendship.

"Friendship isn't about whom you know the longest... It's about who came, and never left your side."

 - Unknown-

Quilt Facts:

Design: Humble HST

Quilt Size: 60" x 72"

Quilting: Machine ditch stitched 

Fabric: Sew Cherry & Emma Louise in Mint

Backing: Bijoux Swirly Buds Gold & remnants from Sew Cherry & Salt Air 

Progress links:

Journey 1

Journey 2

Love and Surrender

Saskia's Quilt

This quilt was made July 2012 for Saskia, the latest addition to the family.  I was very fortunate to have met this gorgeous girl on my recent trip to Auckland to catch up with the family.

This was a challenging quilt to make.  Not only did it had many different components to piece together, it also took a very long time to be hand quilted.  On top of it, I was (and still am) studying part-time, working full-time, and trying to have a work life/quilting balance.  All up, this quilt took me 4 months to finish as I could only worked on it a little at a time, and sometimes not at all having to juggle both exams and work. 

Quilting this quilt gave me a creative outlet from all the mental work and stress that goes with studies and work.  It gave me immense joy and satisfaction (often a therapy as well) to work with colorful fabrics, to piece different components together, and to see every stitch come together to form a completed quilt.

It was something I looked forward to do after working hours or a long study session on the weekend.  There was a 'soothing' presence about the feel of the fabric between my fingers, and the colors that saturated my eyes as I hand stitched the quilt together.  It made me felt that everything in life was going to be alright.

My family and friends called quilting a labor of love but to me quilting is an expression of love.  When you are in love with anything your heart desires, you surrender yourself into it with no reservation.  

"Surrender is faith that the power of Love can accomplish anything even when you cannot foresee the outcome" - Deepak Chopra

Quilt design: Jitterbug

Size: 56" x 72"

Fabric: Salt Air Jelly roll
Quilting: Hand quilted using DMC Perle 8 Blanc