Thursday, July 29, 2010

Waving at you

It’s finished!  I’ve finally drawn breath after free motion machine quilting the Flower Fairy quilt, and what a challenge it was.

As part of Amanda Daly’s free motion quilting class earlier this year we were encouraged to buy a panel, stitch borders on it, and use this very quickly pieced together quilt as a practice piece.  FlowerFairy5 As someone who always wants to run before she can walk I think that was such a great idea, much more interesting than working on endless mini-quilt sandwiches.FlowerFairy3 It hasn’t turned out quite the masterpiece I’d envisaged, but working on the Flower Fairy quilt has taught me a few lessons.FlowerFairy2 Quilting needs to be of uniform density throughout the quilt - and using nasty thick poly batting, just because I had it on hand, was not a good idea.  A thinner cotton/wool batting might have been much more forgiving.FlowerFairy1See those wavy edges?  Hmmmmm.  As the report card might say – Can do better!FlowerFairy4 As I pick myself up and dust myself off I’m reminding myself that it was only a practice quilt and there’s a very strong chance that The Princess will adore it for her new ‘big girl’ bed.

6 comments:

  1. Well done, Di! Of course she'll love it. :) I think it looks fine - wavy edges and all.

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  2. Di!

    She is just beautiful and you have done her just!

    See! It's not so scary!

    Hugz

    PS I Just love all the work you do!

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  3. Oops - i forgot to say that I like your new look!

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  4. From someone who has just done a similar class I looked very closely at your work and couldn't find a single mistake! You've done a fabulous job!

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  5. Di, that's great! Using a panel is a great idea, I have to admit I'm not one for the "test sandwiches" either.

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  6. What a great experience for you. A pre-printed panel is perfect for practicing on... not having to worry about what's the most appropriate quilting pattern for an area, but focusing on the quilting itself. And you're right about the poly too! I rarely quilt with it, unless I'm just plain desperate. Good work, Di, and good for the Princess too!

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