Global Warming

If you've been reading along, I have been working on a quilt to use up some of my stash of Hoffman batiks using a pattern by Anthology Fabrics called Global Warming.. I finally finished and took it this morning for a photo shoot.  Shoot was a good word...

While I worked on this quilt, I was casting around in my mind for a good spot for the photography.  The massive wind mills on the Tantramar Marsh seemed an appropriate background, so hubby and I scoped it out earlier this week. 

The land is pretty flat, except for the dykes built by clever Acadians many, many years ago, so we decided to spread the quilt on a dyke, and shoot it with a windmill behind. Seemed simple enough...

It was anything but. The walls are deceptively steep, and it was not a good angle.

Also...there's a very good reason that a wind-farm was built on this marsh:  it's windy!!!

We did a lot of quilt-chasing.

Sadly, we did not get any good whole-quilt photos.

However, the light was just right to show off the quilting.

First, each of the 1600, 2" blocks was outlined in the ditch.  Then I did diagonal cross-hatching - with the walking foot - in the outside sections of the circle.

Inside the circle, continuous curves were worked free motion. The bottom triangle sections have solar flares, and the solid black border represents the ozone layer.  It features ozone molecules stitched in triads. This was the only marking I did, and I traced around an Aurifil thread base using a white Clover marker.

 I love how easy it is to remove the marks, even on a batik.  A shot of heat and they're gone.

I am pleased with the texture created by the quilting. Manipulating the fabric through the machine made the batiks butter soft, and the wool batting inside makes this a cuddly, puffy quilt.

It will have a male owner, and I have every confidence it will hold up well in the wash.

There is a lot of quilting on this piece, and I used a whack of thread, Aurifil all the way, of course. 50 weight was used for both for the piecing and the quilting.  I added a shadow around the outside of the centre "globe" with a 12 weight line of stitching in black.

This afternoon, I decided to lay the quilt in our backyard to get a shot of the whole, and of course that invited trouble. The dark blob in the upper left quadrant is not a shadow...it's a cat.  Polly. 

Amazing what a difference the light makes - this doesn't even look quilted!

I am pleased to have made this cleverly designed quilt which has been on my bucket list for several years.  I am sure if you Google "Global Warming" you can find some hits on how to make your own.

Florentine by Marilyn

Sometime an email can make you feel so good inside.  Such is the case with this one, from Marilyn Eparvier, who wrote asking permission to enter her version of "Florentine" in national exhibits. (Click that link to see my original). Her quilt is beautifully done;  I am thrilled for her to show it off.

Marilyn writes, "I was so impressed with everything about your quilt that I even made similar fabric choices, something I never normally do. Your book "Quilting Beauties"  from AQS is excellent, chock full of inspiration and helpful information...When the quilt was on my design wall waiting to be bound, my daughter took one look at it & said, "That's the one I want!  That one is perfect."  Everyone who has seen it is so impressed with the innovative way the traditional New York Beauty pattern is incorporated into the total design with such beautiful results...This quilt was so enjoyable to make; even the quilting with gold metallic thread went very well and was fun.  I am looking forward to your next book."  You can see Marilyn's exquisite quilting below.  The fabric by the way, is a gorgeous collection from Hoffman Fabrics.

Thank you, Marilyn, for your very kind words, and for doing such a stellar job on your quilt.  I look forward to seeing some big ribbons on your beauty in the upcoming year!

Snow Beauty

Before presenting a workshop, I always sew a new version of the project to have it fresh in my mind.  When preparing for the recent class on Maritime Beauty, I decided to give my project a bit more zing. Here's the result, and even though I've named it "Snow Beauty", it really is :)

I used beautiful Hoffman batiks, printed with snowflakes, in black and greys.

 The large snowflakes were fussy cut for the centre, and for the semi-circles on each end.

There was enough solid black around the snowflakes that I could cut plain background pieces to square out the centre sections.

I chose a medium grey Aurifil thread (#2610) for piecing.  When it came time to quilt, Aurifil #4060, which is a very subtle white to medium-dark grey variegated, was a perfect choice to blend with the batiks.

My quilting was free-form ice shards.  The spikes of the New York Beauty block make a perfect halo around the batik snowflakes.

I am really, really pleased with how this turned out.  

The pattern for original Maritime Beauty may be downloaded here.

Hoffman Indah Solids

More new fabric! Zinc, Leaf, Pistachio, Arctic Blue and Cobalt  Hoffman Indah Solids - loving this combination,  The Zinc is a cool (greyish) white - a perfect background for my chosen threads. These are Aurifil 12 and 28 weights which will be used for the quilting.  Off to sew!

 Off to sew!

Fabric Shopping

Saturday shopping errands included a visit to Mrs. Pugsley's Emporium.  I knew she had new fabrics in and I needed to see them - fun things, like work boots and skis, and gorgeous things, like more Hoffman.  I knew my niece would love these Dr Who prints, featuring the tardis.

I bought a Fat Quarter of each print and made her a zippered pouch.  They are fun to do and only take a few minutes to sew.  Before Christmas, I bought a pile of zippers at Mrs. P's; it's so handy to have the right colour on hand.

The "exploding tardis" print was used for the lining.  She will love this, and hopefully can find a use.

I also picked up 4 more metres from Hoffman's "Berries and Blooms" collection because I can't stop thinking about this fabric and decided I hadn't bought enough the first time I saw it. (Why are the words "obsessed" and "hoarder" running through my brain...?) If you click on the photo you can see how luscious the gold is on that cream.

The best part of the visit was a chance meeting with Lucy, a quilter from Fredericton whom I met at a workshop I gave in Keswick Ridge several years ago.  Wonderful to see you Lucy and to have a little catch-up. The timing was perfect - what are the odds that we would be there at the same time?!

I am off to iron my Berries and Blooms fabrics and dream of what they will become.  They seem to be whispering "diamonds...cut me into diamonds..."

The Stuffle

No one guessed from the previous post what I was working on...in fact no one was even close!
So, here is it: The Stuffle! It's a brightly coloured, head-turning Duffle bag that you can fill with... stuff. (Blame my sons for the name suggestion, they thought "stuffle your duffle" was hilarious) With the soft sides, it's going to be great to carry quilts when I travel around.

It's pieced from a luscious summer collection of Hoffman hand-dyed Bali Watercolours. With all due modesty - it's gorgeous! :)
As with all of my designs, the construction is kept super simple and the pattern contains lots of coloured photos to guide you through the process of creating your own. The bag is constructed flat with quilting, straps and pocket added before any shaping is done. Super easy!

The Stuffle is sewn with 50 weight cotton Aurifil, and quilted with heavier weight Aurifil threads - both 12 and 28 weights.  I really love these threads as it's like adding quilting and embellishment in one step. My sewing machine loves them too; with a size 16 topstitch  needle and regular Mako 50 in the bobbin, you're all set.  These are the ends, quilted first...

...and then trimmed to size.

There are open pockets on the inside, sewn into each end.

 The Stuffle also has an inside zippered pocket.

I took it down to the Amherst Train Station for the photo shoot.

Thank you to Cheryl Coville for her very efficient checking of the instructions and also to Polly who inspected all the seams before pronouncing it fit for action.

She worked so hard she actually fell asleep in the bag :)

A print version of Stuffle pattern # 515 is available from the pattern page of my website , at your local quilt shop - including, of course, Mrs. Pugsley's Emporium.  You can download the pattern here.

Now...where shall I go?

Almost Done!

I am having an absolute ball stitching together Hoffman 1895 watercolours with Aurifil thread.  Can you guess what I am making? This project is SO me!  I love the bright colours.

Even with just a super simple wavy line, the 12 and 28 weight Aurifil threads make a statement -the quilting stands out spectacularly.

Any guesses as to what this will be?