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

Something a bit smaller

Hi, I fell in love with these two designs from Embroidery Library With the ability to stop embroidering at any stage and resume when ever I came back, I placed two designs together and stitched these two panels using the 830 jumbo hoop and only one hooping for each panel.  I remember that one of the designs was over 190,000 stitches, the other a mere 182,000 stitches.  I starched my background fabric heavily, used iron-on fusible No Show Mesh (Floriani) and added a medium tearaway.  The designs stitched without any puckering or movement.  When I purchased the designs they were shown in one colour way with an alternate version.  I chose to use the alternate version but my way (again!).  Both embroideries were completed a while ago.  With my usual way of being side tracked, one cushion was completed at the time and the other sat there only needing the ruching to be made and the backing put on.  Finally this weekend saw both finished and out of my workroom.  I love these designs.

Floral Visions my way

It has been a while since I last posted.  I had not photographed the projects that were finished.  Still haven't for most of them but I decided this morning that it was time, especially with a new year just starting.  So here are the photos of my version of the floral visions quilt.  Stitched on my 830.  I also added some computerised quilting designs in the wide sashing between the blocks and around the centre medallion.  I finished these sashings with free motion echo quilting.  I decided to outline quilt the outer borders and finish these with stippling.  All of the blocks had the designs outline quilted and finally free motion quilted the background for the blocks.  I had a lot of fun designing different styles for these and again what a joy to quilt using my 830.  By the way for those who want, use the dual feed and reduce your foot pressure to 30.  Works like a dream.

With the New year, my daughter has finally set a date for her wedding so for the next months I will need to work on her dress.  Her phone call to tell me that she had changed her mind and that I would love the new dress style she wanted left me wondering what.  Here is a photo of the type of dress she wants.  I don't know how it will turn out, but here's hoping.  This will be quite a departure from the type of things I have made for a long time.  If I can pull it off she will look as gorgeous as the original in the photo.

Companion Star

I have been busy - this quilt was made after seeing a similar quilt in one of the Through the Needle magazines.  I had thought that I had made a mistake in the cutting and dragged my DH off to the quilt shop for more fabric in a mad panic.  Once I started piecing the second set of fabrics I realised that all was well with the original lot (too much of a hurry to get things completed)  So this quilt is the original set of fabrics - the second quilt was posted with the fairy quilt a little while back. This one has been sitting for quite some time just waiting for the piped binding to be added.
I used embroidery designs from the Jubilee Border collection (email otto@opsewing.com.au if you want these designs). I again quilted it in the hoop as well as using some #20 weight variegated cotton for the other work.

Drunkards Path variations

I have a group that are eager to earn how to really use the stitches on the their machines and designed a couple of quilts that whilst traditional are very non-traditional in their construction.  I encouraged them to really go outside their boundaries and experiment.

This quilt is the second of two quilts that I made demonstrating the technique.  It has been finished for a while and features free motion quilting as well as using the mock hand quilting stitch.  This one was decorative stitched on my 830 and free motion quilted on my 440 (My 830 was busy doing something else!).  The larger one was actually the first one I stitched but I have only just completed the quilting and need to get some photos - hopefully tomorrow.
Enjoy Chris.