Tilde

I volunteered to help hang the show today, it’s hard work and Cathy Wiggins is well organized!  162 Judged quilts, Wearables, and 2 special exhibits were hung while the vendors were bringing all their amazing stuff in!  I knew I’d won something, but wasn’t sure which quilt, I had 3 in the show. I behaved myself for the most part, I did ask Janet-Lee and Cathy but tight lipped.  The winning quilts are displayed so that both side of the quilt can be viewed.

Remember back in August when I picked out all of that metallic stitching?

Well I think the end result might be well worth the effort!  Here is the front of Tilde.  I’ve shown bits and pieces over the last few weeks.  Snippets here and there, close up but not anything that would really show the entire thing.  Keith Dommer pieced this exquisite top.  The center is Sharon Schambers Fresno block (used with permission).  Keith designed the rest of the quilt around this motif, exploring the shape of the tilde.

It was truly an honor to quilt Tilde.

I enjoy the process of working with other quilters, there is something about this that brings a certain sense of joy.

I did tell Keith that if he wanted me to requilt any part of this I would be happy to do so.

The blue ribbon tells me with clear certainty that I don’t need to requilt anything.

A little about the quilt – Keith’s applique is intense and accurate and well, he has a damn good sense of color.

I used a single layer of Hobbs Tuscany Wool Batting.

And then there is the thread – MasterPiece, So Fine, Bottom Line, King Tut, Metallic and Magnifico were all used in this quilt.

I have a few more quilts to share but will do so later tomorrow evening as I have a few more I want to shoot.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

 

Take Me Right Into The “Feather Zone”

I’ve quilted for Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero of Kaleidoscope Collections since shortly after we met on the set of Quilting Arts TV in 2009.  As I stitch I’ll send Jeanie photographic updates of the quilting as these quilts are decorating her booth, inviting customers in for a closer look.  I work at being mindful of her needs as the designer of the software and the quilts.  I love playing with the kaleidoscopes seeing where and how I can quilt them without overwhelming Jeanie’s work.  As a side note kaleidoscopes make great practice quilts, more on that another time.

Jeanie sent me photos of a quilt she was working on and I was totally blown away.  These photos came with a different request, “quilt it like a show quilt“.  We emailed one another finalizing the design of the quilt.  I enjoyed this process as we discussed which design we liked best.    (ALL IMAGES USED WITH PERMISSION)

Meet “Feather Zone”

That red border is pieced in because Jeanie asked me what I thought about printing it…that was fine but I know what an excellent piecer she is and I thought she should piece it in.  Turn about is fair play as you’ll see later.  Because Jeanie was getting ready for Market and Festival I needed to do a very quick turn around time on the quilt.

 

Over the week or so that I spent quilting this I sent Jeanie sneak peeks of the stitching.  I stopped sending them after a while as I needed to finish the quilt and I really wanted to surprise her with the finished quilt.  I did.

As I stitched I followed a lot of the boundaries of the feathers filling in with some detail as I thought it needed it.

And of course I needed to fill the space.  This is the quilt where I realized I didn’t have much, if any, pink thread.  Five spools of Superior MasterPiece came home with me.  All five pinks came home with me the next day and were stitched into the quilt.

I used fuchsia in the border which ends up quite subtle as the border is a very dark purple.  Jeanie overprinted it to get just the right color.

I used a couple of different colors on the back including orange.  I love the orange/purple combination.  And here again it’s quite subtle as the purple is deep.

I used 2 layers of batting in the quilt.  The batting at the back is bamboo, the batting on the top is Hobbs Tuscany Silk.  The bamboo gives the quilt structure & stability while the silk gives smoothness and loft.  At Jeanie’s request I actually hand stitched the binding to the back.  Yes, you read that correctly I did some hand stitching.  Jeanie was right of course hand stitching on a show quilt gives a much better quality & feel to the quilt.

I did not use bias binding, instead after a conversation with Paula Reid I decided to give cross-grain binding a go and I must say I’m pleased.

The other night Jeanie & I finally decided on the name for the quilt, “Feather Zone”.  We’re taking you into the Feather Zone.  I dare say this is the best way to learn feathers I’ve ever encountered.  Mind you Ricky Tims does a phenomenal demonstration at the Super Seminars and I’m grateful for that!  As I stitched this quilt I learned more about the ways the feathers can be stitched up one side and down the other, than I ever had before.  I’m not one for turning the quilt around a lot as I quilt and this allowed me to quilt in a way that was really comfortable.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

PS Jeanie & I are submitting the quilt to shows, as soon as we know where it will be we will let you know.

 

Robert Kaufman’s Radiance and Hobbs Tuscany Silk

When I returned from Lancaster I blogged about Robert Kaufman’s Radiance line a 55% cotton, 45% silk blend.  It’s yummy.  Oh, it’s really yummy fabric.

I mentioned too that I purchased Hobbs Tuscany Collection Silk Batting to use with this and “Moon Over Manhattan”.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to play with these two things together.  I’d just finished a commission piece and I’m figuring out how to make a winding ways quilt from Benartex Fossil Ferns sooo….I’m taking the time to do some of my own pieces that I’ve wanted to do.

First is playing with Radiance & the Hobbs Silk batting.  I’m totally in love with both of these.  The silk batting gives a slightly trapunto effect across the surface, even in the swirling feathers area.  It’s quite easy on the shoulders.  Since I’m using a cotton on the back (will shoot that another time) I did not need to spray baste, though if I were doing a larger piece I would.  I did spray baste for Radiance – just enough to hold it in place as I quilted.

I’m using Aurifil thread here in 3 different colors that match the other 3 fat quarters of Radiance I’m planning on quilting at some point.

The arcs are drawn free form.  I can hardly wait to see what happens with each of the 6 pieces I have in this.

Yesterday my sweetie was in the City again.  Look what he came home with last night

Not just one but 2 smaller thread racks.  This should be more than enough to separate and sort out my thread either by color or brand.  I’m thinking by brand/type as it will make more sense to me.

I was thrilled when I realized he did this again.  I love that I can easily see what’s available to me and take what I need.  What I’m hoping is that one rack will hold bobbins for me.

If you haven’t read an issue – The Quilt Life magazine rocks!

This is a new venture through The Quilt Show & AQS with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. This magazine is all about living the quilt life.

This month’s issue is all about thread.  The photo of Ricky & Alex was taken at Libby Lehman‘s home, in front of her thread rack.  Libby has quite a bit of thread and a great piece on thread in the magazine.

Editor Jan Magee keeps a blog about the magazine and is a real sweetheart.  I got to meet her in person a the AQS Lancaster show a few weeks ago.

I have started working on “Moon Over Manhattan”.  I’m really excited about where this quilt is going.  I have all of the trapunto done.  I’m working with “Moon Over Manhattan” in a slightly different way than “Twilight in the Bronx” and I’m anxious to see where this quilt goes.  I have all the thread I think I’ll need for the project.  My goal is to have this quilt done in time for A Quilters Gathering and to enter into Paducah next year.

I’m still working on the Guild Quilt – because the quilt is not being juried I get to work on it today & tomorrow.  I need to leave enough time for the sleeve & labels to be put back on.

I’m quilting free form feathers into the solid black areas of the quilt.  As soon as I get the quilt finished and can do it I will be taking full shots of this.  The quilt will be raffled in November at Quilt Celebration XI.  (You’re invited to attend the show!  Entry is $6.00 – more info to follow)

Happy quilting!

Teri

 

Lancaster Trip

The trip to Lancaster was just a blast.  Cathy & I had great traveling weather straight to Ladyfingers Sewing in Oley, PA.  A terrific shop owned by Gail Kessler of Andover Fabrics.  Gail & her staff are sweet and quite helpful!  After knowing Gail on facebook for quite a while I enjoyed meeting her in person.  I did not know that there are 123 colors of Dimples!  Oh my goodness I needed a bib in this place.  Okay, yes that happens a lot in quilt shops.   I very nearly talked Cathy into purchasing fat quarters of the entire line.  Almost.

I purchased a deep dark rich purple batik and an incredibly bright orange and some Superior Thread – an Emerald Green Metallic for “Moon over Manhattan”.  For some reason as I type the purple might be for Brooklyn…”Bridge to Brooklyn” seems just right and ideas start floating through my head… I see more thread shopping in my future.

Superior Threads will be debuting their new silk line “Kimono” in the spring, I’ve heard June.  Oh dear…I foresee another shopping trip for me!

Thursday night we met up with some folks from the old Alex Anderson message board.  Meeting Howdy and SmileDarlin‘  finally was terrific.  We’d been playing tag at Neen’s for a couple of years now.  Both Cheryl and Lori are just welcoming and sweet.   After dinner the group had show & tell, I dashed out after the 3rd person because I was staying with Julie that night and wanted a chance to chat with her.  Julie is a new quilter and is quite the natural.  She’s getting quite good with her Bernina 440QE.  She had a quilt on the machine while I was there and her skill level is very good for a beginner.  I got to play with her machine Friday morning before we dashed out to the quilt show to finish a wee bit of quilting on her son’s quilt.  One of the best things about spending time with Jules is that she’s quite funny and tells great stories about her kids…she kept us laughing.  And kindly brought me to a store where I could get jammies because I’d left mine at home.

Our first quilt shop that morning was Piece by Piece where Cheryl works.  If you’re ever in Ephrata stop by, it’s a great shop with fabulous classroom space.  I purchased the 4 patch stacked posie by HD Designs to possibly teach at one of the local quilt shops.  I’m going to make a small one to get the technique as soon as I can.

Next stop – Liberty for the parking and shuttle to the main show.  We walked around these vendors were fab!  I purchased some of the Robert Kaufman Radiance line that a shop (not on line yet).  They purchased prepared for dyeing and dyed the fabric.  Oh my goodness!  I’m in love!!!  Totally.  I had Elizabeth Rosenberg & Benedicte Caniell laughing as I told them about the feel of the cloth!  I purchased some Aurifil thread that matches the color perfectly.  Saturday I went back and bought more of the Radiance.  I have not been so excited about a new fabric line since I was first introduced to Moda Marbles and learned about batiks!

I stopped by the Hobbs booth and purchased a queen size Tuscany Silk Batting. I have several things in mind for this including “Moon Over Manhattan” and the Radiance pieces.  I can hardly wait to see how this quilts.

I’ll get some pics up tomorrow or Saturday of who I got to meet in person, other stops we made and how funny Charlotte Angotti is!

Teri