Applique and quilt

Applique in the hoop

 This quilt started out as a digitising lesson for Otto & Pennys Sewing Centre and the Embroidery Forum.  The idea was to show how to digitise free motion applique.  We followed that lesson with one showing how one could make the quilt and preview it using the Quilter part of Designer 6 software.
When I decided to make the quilt, I played around with lots of blocks but finally decided to make my own five patch chain block leaving me a large alternate block for the applique flowers.  I had intended to applique flowers in all of the blocks, but decided that a quilting design would be much better and make the quilt "lighter".   The blocks were pieced and borders added.  I then quilted all of the straight line quilting through the middle of the small blocks, around the red border and finished with hooped quilting in the print border. I then finished off the edges with piped binding.  Next step was to hoop each plain block using the Bernina jumbo hoop.  The applique designs were surrounded by stipple quilting which was stitched before the applique but in the same embroidery file.  The border designs did not include the stippling and this was stitched after the applique was finished. 
I finally decided that there needed to be more straight line quilting and I think that the closeups will show this, including a thread I hadn't noticed until I uploaded that particular photo.
A quick note - I used an assortment of batik fabrics for this quilt - approximately 20 greens and yellows with 40+ oranges and reds for the flowers.

Alternate Block quilting which echos the applique design.

Closeup of the border applique designed to fit the edge triangles

Block applique

Corner applique

I hope you like this quilt.

Chris

Better late than never

Hi, it has been a while since I last posted but I have been busy both stitching and with family commitments.  I have finally finished several quilts and with others nearly there also.
Otto has one of the Bernina quilting frames now in the shop and we have been busy learning how to best use the software and put the results onto a quilt.  The quilt I am posting today is one that I used for a teaching sample back in the very early 1990s in fact, it might have begun before that as I can remember purchasing fabrics from a store that has since closed when we were living in a little country town called Saddleworth.  We moved there in mid 1987, I began my first quilt - a Baltimore album queen size hand appliqued and quilted piece - and we moved from there to Cowell early 1990.  By that time, I had been merrily stitching and I was asked to have an exhibition of my quilts.  I filled the institute building - for those who don't know this is a community building and generally there is one in most country towns and they are huge!
Anyway in order to practice using the quilting frame I decided that it was time some of these old quilt tops were quilted.  This one is an old favourite and still popular no matter the colours used or the setting used.  I used a quilting design that came with the software and "scooted" the second row to intertwine with the first row of stitching.  With the second row, I actually decided that it would be quicker to take the original design into the PatternCad where I changed into a pattern that began at the halfway point of the original design.  Much easier and quicker to use once that was done.  PatternCad is really quite easy to use.

This was one of my early scrap quilts and even then I believed in using lots of different fabrics, quite a challenge then as we did not have too many quilt shops.  I can remember phoning USA (Keepsake Quilting and Hancocks) to add to my stash. 

The quilt didn't take too long to quilt but a lot longer than I anticipated as I had moved the designs closer together so that there was little blank areas

A close up of the centre

 One thing that took a bit of juggling - with this top I had purchased a Jinny Beyer strip to use for the background.  Enough for me to machine quilt.  However, the quilting frame needs a lot more so I had to piece the backing including fussy cutting.  Now that it is quilted, one would never know!  I must remember to take a photo of the back to show.
I just need to doctor the next lot of photos for another top - another teaching sample - and I will post that tomorrow.  This one was custom quilted but more tomorrow.
Chris

A Beautiful Wedding

Hi, as promised I am now showing the dress that I made for my older daughter Karinne who was married on Friday 11 November, 2011.  A date that she says she will never forget!

I have always promised both of my daughters that I would make their special dress so wasn't too surprised when Karinne asked me about hers.  This dress was quite beautiful and relatively simple and I thought it would be sooo easy.  That is until a couple of months later Karinne rang and told me that she had changed her mind and that I would really love the new dress!!!!!  I posted a picture that she gave me showing the inspiration for her new design.  It took a couple of tries to draft the toile ready for fitting and to give me an idea how much fabric would be needed (there were a couple of changes needed - a bigger train for one) and we were then off to purchase the fabric.  Along came the bridesmaid - apparently I was making her dress as well!  Anyway, we ordered the fabric and at the same time Debby (the bridesmaid) saw a fabric that she really liked so we purchased all they had of that too - just as well. 

The cutwork edges were my design and was stitched with a maximum of 3 repeats at a time because of the curves,  the remaining designs were adaptions of OESD 12236 Needle Painted roses embroidery set.  I do not know how many hoopings there were after I stopped counting.  To finish her dress the lining was completely stitched in by hand following the cutwork edges.  I completed the designs with approx 25 gross of hot fix crystals and crystals to complete one of the shoulders.  This section was rebeaded 5 times before I decided to use a light weight fishing line.


Anyway to cut a long story here are some photos and Karinne and Debby were very happy with their choices.  All of the following photos were taken before the final pressing which was not done until the morning of the wedding.

A closeup of the bodice embroidery and cutwork edging

Detail showing the front section and the crystal detail for the left shoulder

View from the back showing the embroidered train (before pressing)

Karinne trying the dress before final details were completed

My husband David and Karinne about to come down the steps.

 Karinne and Terry chose to marry at a small cove just outside the seaside town of Point Turton on the western side of Yorke Peninsula.  They had a perfect day with very little wind but there were quite a few high steps to get down to the beach.  (There happened to be a few people sunbathing at the time so they were treated to our chorus during the nuptials)

During the ceremony - the young man on the left is my grandson Blue

Debbies dress completed

Karinne and Terry had decided to marry at a place where they spend much of their free time.  They also arranged everything - accommodation for all of their guests, a bus to take all of the guests to and from the wedding and a beautiful venue for the reception after drinks and nibbles at a different venue.  A very happy occasion enjoyed by all.

Playing with the Cutwork Software

Hi, I know I have been very remiss these last few months, but working on bridal wear has taken precedent over most other things.  I vowed that I would not make a quilt during this time......Well - that was broken almost at once.  To date I am working on four.  The one I am going to show you is one that I made using the Cutwork Software and my Bernina 830. 

It was inspired by an article I saw in a book about Friendship quilts - one of my Monday girls has the book and I forgot to get the name of it.  I will let you know.

 This is the page that I scanned and used to digitise the design.





All of the applique pieces were cut out in the embroidery hoop taking approximately 4 hours.  The blocks took 17 minutes for each to stitch out and once I was at the quilting stage, the full blocks were stitched in 4 minutes.  Each of the blocks was outlined free motion stitched and I digitised the filler design so that it was stitched in blue on the cream and cream on the blue.  Where the blocks were divided between both the centre and border areas were still stitched with one hooping - I really did have to be careful when I hooped!
 
Placing the applique pieces and removing the paper from the shapes took the most time and I ended up streamlining that by removing the paper for up to 4 blocks at the same time.  All in all a quick quilt.  I scanned the photo of the quilt, in the V6 Designer software, I digitised one of the leaf sets, the diamond and the centre flowers.  Saved these in Exp format and opened the Cutwork software.  Filled the appropriate hoop with each individual design (one hoop for leaves and stems, one for diamonds etc)  It was so quick.  I hooped a heavy tearaway and basted 3-6 layers of vliesofixed fabric with each hooping.

My Version of the Snowflake quilt

Detail

Detail

Centre blocks and quilting

In the hoop Applique detail

Centre Block

Border Block

 Hopefully you enjoy looking at this project.
Chris

Cutwork fun

 I watched a webinar that Bernina made highlighting the 830 machine.  The project featured a drawstring bag embellished with cutwork embroidery designs.  I didn't have those designs, but I did have others.  I also used a lace design and added cutwork to that as well.
The designs stitched during the webinar were manually cut out.  I decided to use the software for Cutwork that Bernina released last year.  It is so easy to use and the machine cut beautifully.  The first design I stitched did not cut out as well as I liked but once I changed the cut fabric to velour, voila!!!

I also tried my hand at digitising my own cutwork from an illustration.  Unfortunately, my photography is still not too good and it was over exposed - lots.  Any way the photos will give you some ideas on how easy this software is to use.




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Inside design 1

Inside design 2

This design was originally a fsl lace design.  I digitised the outline for the star and then the centre circle applique.

Inside of the bag showing the whole design area stitched

Some fish

My husband loves fishing and with his friend spent many a day out on the water.  This is a wall hanging I made for him.  The background was a curved piecing technique I taught and these were some pieces left over from another project (another UFO).  The fish are all free motion embroidered/thread painted onto organza and then appliqued to the background.  The water reeds and seaweed featured several different dimensional techniques.  I finished the quilt with free motion quilting and some beading.

Another version

Hi,
Finally another quilt.  This was an original variation of a drunkards path and was the first one I stitched before I was sidetracked when one of my class students asked if there was a way to do something similar but smaller.  The smaller quilt has already been posted and is a more traditional setting.
This quilt used 2 x charm packs, 1 x layer cake and a jelly roll.  I did add a monotone for the final border and used the leftover jelly roll strips for the piped binding.
It was a wonderful way to use the decorative stitches of my 830.  I chose a palette of approximately 9 thread colours and used the same decorative stitch for all of the pieces stitched onto each of the layer cake squares.  Some of the seams were stitched with just one decorative stitch whilst others were stitched with two rows.  All of the small straight edges leading into the curved sections were stitched with blanket stitching.  The ability to use the history for stitches made this so quick, well almost.
I finished the quilt by ditch quilting both sides of the sashing and border and then quilted the squares and borders by using the jumbo hoop.  The block and border designs are my own digitising.  Thanks Otto for the great photos.  As you can see he gets them lovely and straight (Not like my last lot - the floral visions version)

Chris