Last Call

I am really floored at the fabulous response to Ostentation. I can't thank you enough for all the kind comments, emails and phone calls I have received. It's been heartwarming to say the least. The poll for Viewer's Choice closes tomorrow on the Stitch Star site (July 19) so if you have not yet voted, perhaps you will be kind enough to do that now: http://sewtimeless.net/?p=1337 Give the pictures of all the entries a few minutes to load; the voting screen will appear at the end of each set of pictures once they have all downloaded.
On a funny and somewhat related note...I was reading last week that quilters subconsciously dress in the same colours with which we are currently working. I don't often post pictures of myself on the blog (for obvious reasons!) but here's a quick snap hubby took of me before Ostentation got sent off which I offer up as support for this hypothesis:
Intrigued, I went back through quilt photos from years' back; funny hair and all, here's what I found...




Have a look through your own pictures and see if you've done this too!! (Right after you vote, of course :) Today I am wearing blue jeans and a white shirt as I work on my latest quilt - no mystery what colour it is!

Ostentation

I've been taunting you with glimpses of the quilt made using Plume fabrics by Timeless Treasures. Now it's time for the big reveal!
Polly and I began work on this piece in March. Every step in the process of working with these beautiful fabrics was pure delight. The fabric has a peacock theme so in keeping with this I chose spiky, pointy blocks to suggest feathers. Using EQ7, palm blocks were drafted on a 60° grid, and encircled by New York Beauty blocks. The yellow centres of the rings in the NYB blocks are reminiscent of the eye on a peacock’s tail feathers. (Sigh...get off the quilt, Polly.)

Originally I intended to back the quilt with a plain royal blue cotton. After I had it basted however, it was bothering me not to use the royal blue print from the Plume line, so I took it all out and started over. I am very glad I did.

The feather theme was carried through into the quilting, which was done using a gold metallic thread. I stitched feathers up the "legs" of the central palm blocks.

I echo quilted an eye in the gold NYB centres, and stitched feathery peacock plumes in the V shape below.

Although it is rather heavily quilted, spaces were left to allow the loft of the wool batting to puff.

I like how the piecing draws your eye to the centre, so to accentuate that I added a sparkly black button.

This interestingly shaped quilt is neither round nor oval but has elongated patches added top and bottom; a beaded black tassel adds the finishing touch. Amazingly, I stumbled across a tassel which was a perfect match for the button. What are the odds?

After the binding was added, I decided to block the quilt to ensure it would hang straight. To do this, I pinned the quilt to a cardboard cutting mat and sprayed it with water. Then I covered the quilt with plastic and left it overnight to dry.

Here you see the reason for the plastic. Polly assumed guard duty.

It took some time to come up with a good name. Jackie from dayle's suggested a crossword dictionary which was a terrific idea. I discovered that the name for a flock of peacocks is an ostentation, and it aptly describes this showy, ostentatious quilt of glitzy fabric and thread. Because I was so pleased with my finished design, on a whim I sent off a picture to Timeless Treasures who are running a "Stitch Star" contest on this fabric line. How exciting to get a phone call from their office in New York last week telling me Ostentation is a semi-finalist!

The quilts are all shown on the Timeless Treasures Stitch Star blog and voting is now underway for People's Choice. The prizes in this competition are substantial - $5,000.00 and a Horizon Memory Craft 7700QCP Sewing Machine by Janome for first place - so I do hope you will take a moment to vote. Think of all the fabric that would buy...!

Live, From New York It's...

Stitch Star!
Readers of this blog will recall I made a quilt using Plume fabrics from Timeless Treasures. I spotted the fabrics in Halifax one day and fell in love.
I had no design in mind when I purchased them but once I sketched the quilt out on the computer I realized I needed another colour. When I Googled to find the fabric, I discovered that there was a contest connected with this collection. I didn't pay much attention at the time as I was not interested in a competition - I was making this quilt for me. However, when I got it finished I liked it so much that I filled out the application form and sent off the required 8x10 prints to Timeless Treasures. I did not give it another thought; the quilt has been hanging in my livingroom for the past few weeks while I cleared a spot in my work room for it to hang. Imagine my shock when I answered the phone at suppertime last evening to hear Hayden from Timeless Treasures telling me that the quilt has been selected as one of 15 finalists!!! It was truly an OMG moment, as they had tons of entries from all around the world.

Since I didn't pay much attention (ok, any attention...) to the contest rules, I am unsure as to whether I can show the quilt at this time. I think there was mention of a travelling exhibit, but I don't recall if that is just for the 3 winning quilts or all the semi-finalists. All I know is that I need to find a box to mail it off to Broadway in New York, New York (even that sounds cool!) Oh, and the name I chose for this piece is "Ostentation". Not only is that a great name for such a showy quilt, it's also the name for a group of peacocks. Wish me luck!

The Finish Line

Finished my "Plume" quilt.
Finished four of eight commissioned antependiums; figured the half way mark deserved a little reward too.

My Own Worst Enemy

It's been quite a week...In the last post I had completed the basting on the quilt using Plume fabrics. I spent that evening deciding on, and drawing out, the quilting motifs I would use on the quilt. Something kept nagging at me in the back of my mind though and when I got up in the morning, I knew what I had to do. I removed the plain backing fabric (yes, I UNBASTED it!) and ordered some more of the gorgeous Plume. Fussy is as fussy does. I got this flashy royal and gold swirl from Quilting B and More in Charlottetown. Owner Suzanne Lane does great mail order service, and the fabric arrived in my mailbox the next day. Can't beat that.
As much as I dislike having to rebaste the quilt, it is much easier to remove those pins than to rip out the stitching, and I knew I would not be happy otherwise. Sigh... In the meantime, I heard myself say "yes" to another commission, with a very tight deadline. It took awhile to sketch it out and get the lines of the Gothic arch of the window frame even, (and I think I've been to Dayle's 5 times in the last two days for fabric!) but today it's ready to stitch.
C'mon finish line...Mama needs new shoes *-)

On The Flip Side

Today was basting day. Groan...I don't like basting. Before the fun could begin however, I needed to find a fabric to back my quilt. I've heard lots of folks say they put any old thing on the back because no one sees it anyway (especially for a wallhanging, which is what this will be) but it's been my experience that the first thing folks do when they look at your quilt is flip it over to see the back. Embroiderers will tell you the back of your work needs to be as neat as the front and this is a good maxim to apply to quilting also. Personally, I like to see the backs of quilts; that's where the pretty stitching shows up, especially on a plain fabric. Since there was nothing suitable in my stash, I headed to Dayle's Department Store. With Doreen's help, I chose a plain royal blue cotton. It picks up the blues in the Plume fabrics beautifully. Even though it will only be next to the binding fabric, they all play nicely together and it pleases my eye. I also chose two spools of blue cotton thread in a shade to match. This will be bottom thread only, as I am planning to use a metallic thread for the quilting. Since Polly's arrival in the household, basting has turned into a bit of a blood sport. She has made a frustrating process even more so. I waited until I was sure she was settled down for her long afternoon siesta before I laid out the fabric.
I followed the same method I've shown in past posts, securing the fabric to the floor using masking tape.
Over this I spread two layers of wool batting.
A good hour later, the quilt is well basted and ready to receive some stabilizing stitching. Then the real fun begins.

A Rewarding Experience

Because I finished the piecing on my latest quilt, I treated myself to a coffee at Tim's.
Once the top is quilted and bound, I will find another treat - this one a little more substantial - with which to reward myself. Sometimes I buy a piece of fabric I've had my eye on, or a new foot for my beloved Bernina. This time it may even be new shoes (!) Using this little reward system has really helped me stay on track with completing my projects. Certainly, there's usually more than one thing at a time under the needle here, but they all get finished in turn. There is no closet of UFO's.
What's your system?

Plume Progress

In stolen moments, I am working away at the patchwork with the Plume fabrics from Timeless Treasures. Each one I pick up is more delightful than the last. This blue is my current favourite, it adds such a spark of colour and it's perfect next to that gold-laced black.
These partially completed sunbursts will snuggle in between the palm blocks when finished, set-in with a "Y" seam.
As I stitch, I envision how this piece will be quilted. Already I have chosen the thread - a dark brownish- gold metallic Sulky, which will work well with the gold highlights woven into the fabric. Mentally, I am auditioning feather quilting motifs up the palm branches, meandering out to the elongated tips on the top and bottom blocks.
Do you "see" your finished piece and dream your quilting motifs as you stitch the patchwork?

WYSIWYG

In computer lingo WYSIWYG is an acronym for "what you see is what you get"... however my computer experience tells me that what you see is definitely not always what you get. Yesterday I was set to begin sewing the Plume fabrics I bought awhile back. I drew this palm block on a 60 degree grid.
When I printed out a sketch of the block it looked like this:

Hmmm...I was never good at those spatial orientation things in math class where you are given a flat drawing and asked what shape it would form when assembled. Naturally, I doubted myself and figured the computer was correct in what it had printed. Still...I hesitated to cut into my beautiful fabrics just in case so I printed it again. Same thing. I decided to rotate the block 45 degrees on the screen, to give the block you see on the top below. (the block on the bottom is the orientation I want to piece).

When I printed the block turned this way, it came out correct for my purpose...albeit wrong on the screen.
I am really glad my brain kicked in before I did irreparable damage to this gorgeous fabric. I have big plans for it. I am piecing the block using templates and my sample turned out great.
Always good to apply the carpenter's rule of measure twice and cut once (or in this case, think twice and cut once.)