The Quilting Thread

[mossrose]

I have been doing some quilting in the last couple of years. So am going to post some pics of my efforts. Anyone else is most welcome to share also.

This first pic is the queen size "Garden Delight" I made for my daughter and son-in-law. Unfortunately she was taking a pic of the cat and not the quilt. I will try to get her to do a better one of the quilt, but that is the best I have for now.

[mossrose]

This is the pattern picture. I used purples and teals for the colours, but kept the black borders...very striking.

[mossrose]

I got tired of doing large bedsized quilts, mostly because I have had to quilt them by hand. (I have done others, but haven't pics of them).

The next quilting I wanted to try was Stained Glass quilts. I have done 3, and quite enjoy the process. They are small enough to machine quilt, and make really nice wall hangings.

This is the first one I did. It is called, "Woodland Orchids", and I gave it to my daughter.

[mossrose]

The second Stained Glass I gave to my sister, who lives a fair distance away. She is in the process of taking pics of it to send me, because I neglected to do so before I gave it to her.....

This is the third Stained Glass. I just finished the top this weekend, so have yet to do the quilting. But we got a new digital camera, so I can show it to you now! Called "Wild Poppies", the fabric behind the actual flowers is a pale yellow, although it looks almost white in the pic.

[sophia]

So, I have this idea of making a quilt for my mother as a gift. I want to take a bunch of pictures of me growing up and print them out on this iron-transfer paper and sew them into a quilt. The thing is, though I know how to sew, the whole quilting idea is beyond me. I'd really like to hear your suggestions on a size or pattern to use or anything like that!

[mossrose]

What a great idea, Sophia!! Do you know what size quilt you want to make? If you have never quilted before, a wall hanging would be easier than a bed-size quilt.

BTW, welcome to Tweb!

[mobleysue]

The orchids quilt is lovely! Purple and green is my fav color combination! I started a crazy quilt a couple of years ago and still haven't finished it, so much embroidery......How do ya find time?
Besides, my mother-in-law is an EXPERT quilter, and by hand! I can't compete, but am lucky enough to own a few of hers. Good job and keep quiltin'!

[mossrose]

Hi, and welcome to Tweb, mobleysue!!

I love the look of crazy quilts, especially those done with satins and velvets and all those really rich looking fabrics!! But I hear ya on the embroidery part -- this is where a REALLY good sewing machine with a bunch of fancy stitches and the ability to hold those wonderful metallic threads would come in pretty handy! (And I don't have one.....) I hope you will finish your quilt one day, and then we will get to see a pic of it!


I know what you mean about your mom-in-law being an expert. I have a sister who teaches quilting, and so I feel a little inadequate around her when we are talking quilts. However, she has never done a stained glass quilt, so I am WAY ahead of her on that one. But, who better to learn from than someone who has been there, done that! I bet if you asked your "m-i-l" she would be glad to teach you some tricks!!

It is pretty easy for me to find time to do the things I love to do in the handicraft areas. My kids are adults, with lives of their own, I have no grandchildren -- yet. I don't have to work, since my hubby is a wonderful provider, and so I can indulge myself in things like Tweb and quilting, etc. whenever I desire. Your time will come......

[sophia]

What a great idea, Sophia!! Do you know what size quilt you want to make? If you have never quilted before, a wall hanging would be easier than a bed-size quilt.

BTW, welcome to Tweb!

Yeah, right now a bed sized quilt would take me forever, I think. Maybe just something for her lap....hmm.....what size do you think make the best squares? How many patterns of fabric do you all think I should pick? I'm planning on ironing the photos onto muslin, which I hear makes a good backing too.....(Something else I could use advice on making!) Maybe three or so different fabrics might work.....

[mossrose]

You can make the blocks of your quilt whatever size you want them to be. A good place to start would be with a 6" block. We'll use that for an example.

If you want a lap-sized quilt, made with 6" blocks, you could put 6 rows of 6 blocks, which would give you a size of 3 square feet. Then, if you add, say, 2 different borders, one 2" wide and the other 4" wide, your finished size would be closer to 4 square feet. You could make more of a rectangle than a square by adding another row of blocks to the length, so you would have a quilt that would be about 54" long by 48" wide, including the border. For a square quilt this size, you would need 36-6" blocks, and for the rectangle you would need 42-6" blocks.

If you decided that 6" blocks are too small, you could increase the size of each block to 9". If you put 4 blocks acoss and 5 down, you will have a quilt that is 36" wide by 45" long, then add a border or two, and you would have a nice size quilt.

You could use 8" squares, or 12" squares -- whatever you want to use. It might be a good idea to get all the photos that you want to use, lay them out, and see which size block might work the best. You could always use more than one photo in each block....make sort of a collage in some of the blocks.

Try to figure out how big you want to make it, then we will talk about fabric.

[Cliodna Emerges]

Those are beautiful, Mossrose! Especially the stained glass ones.. I suddenly feel inspired to learn to sew!

[mossrose]

Oooooh......I LOVE corrupting young women by addicting them to fabric!

[Cliodna Emerges]

[mobleysue]

Thanks for the welcome, mossrose, glad to meet ya! Yes I'd love to have one of those fancy sewing machines, but I kind of enjoy doing the embroidery by hand - it makes for some nice, quiet down time. I also have a wonderful husband who is a good provider and I work part time out of my home. I am blessed with two grandkids, though, who always get top priority with my time. And my m-i-l is great! - I'm sure she will help when it comes time to put my quilt together (if I ever finish the embroidery!) Good luck with your quilting!

mo

[mossrose]

Grandchildren............


(Some day......I hope.....)