My friend Angela has been quilting her old embroideries and the latest one is quite stunning. It was a cross stitched embroidery stitched by her late mother-in-law, so it held special memories. She turned it, from an embroidered table runner
To a stunning work of art by mounting it on a background and then quilting it.
This is then an heirloom for future generations. What a wonderful way of transforming a piece of embroidery.
You might remember some applique blocks I was finishing off for my friends in Toowoomba? Well they have them all 'shashed up' and ready to decide the next step. It is looking good.
I spent the afternoon watching the August edition of the Last Homely House.
I gave myself a subscription to this show and you know it was a good investment. I slow down and watch someone else's everyday life and switch off from my own concerns. What have I got to be concerned about? Well the quilting of my C.Q. 5. It isn't square because I used left overs and off-cuts and when I have come to quilt it I then have to make more adjustments. Those corners are not quite matching up.
I don't think it will really matter in the long run but being a perfectionist it makes me feel uncomfortable.
My Jacquie Gering books turned up today. My phoned dinged and there was a message that they had been delivered, I opened the door and there they were.
They are the same ones I purchased for the patchwork group. (no-one else got a look in. I borrowed them out over and over.) Now I have my own copies. Just to be sure that I don't get them mixed up I added book plates.
I have decided to use a variation on this design. I had outlined the embroidered square and then I am stitching radiating lines.
It is slow work and a bit boring, so I was glad to watch someone else stitching.
I had intended to outline quilt the characters in this panel but it just made my wrist too sore.
I decided to stop at the fox and machine quilt the surrounds of the main panel. The panel was given to my by another member of my Monday quilting group. Still I'm sure it will find a good home. Now, C.Q.5, all pieced, I have used a spray adhesive to put the 3 layers, backing, adding and front together. Fixed the adhesive with a hot iron but I am going to have to find a sheltered spot to do this next time because it isn't sticking in places, so I pinned these. I hope to get back to it tomorrow.
Now I'm thinking about C.Q. 6. I have another 2 cot sized panels that have been given to me so they will be next in line. This is a good size to practice my machine quilting.
Well I got my sewing machine in for a service. Only just made it to the door as the shop was closing as it takes so long to travel anywhere from the island. When Kathy looked at the machine she found the problem very quickly, it was fluff in the grove around the bobbin case. Now, I clean my machine all the time and am very careful about oiling and maintenance so I was surprised at this.
The bobbin does hold a lot more thread so that lengthens the time between cleans and the new electronic machines are a lot more sensitive to all kinds of dust and fluff. But talking to other sewers, who use the same thread (Rasant), it would appear that there has been a change in the specification of the cotton that they use in their thread. They are using a shorter staple, which is cheaper to purchase, and this, together with the changes in technology in machines, adds up to more fluff.
I am going to have to clean the machine more often and more thoroughly or change the thread I use. I know Aurofil uses an Egyptian cotton, that is a long staple, so it is going to be a trade off between price of the thread or more detailed cleaning. I have purchased a large red cleaning brush by Bernina to help me get the fluff out.
If I still have problems I will just have to change the brand of thread I use.
All the preparation are just about ready. One major setback has been that the computer in the 720 Bernina sewing machine has ground to a halt. But, as I have to go off the island and I had brought my car over on the barge in preparation, I can take it in for repair. I will be without this machine for the next 6 weeks, that's how long the list is to get your machine serviced. But, I have the old machine as my back up.
I have been undecided about just what work I would take with me and today I decided on the place-mats. So all the fabric is cut ready. I had enough for 18 place-mats and I only had to put a strip in the front of one for the front and about 4 backs needed to be pieced. I bought all this front fabric at a destash day at my quilting group. My friend had bought it in Japan and then didn't use it. I washed and ironed the fabric which has a pattern in the weave. The backing is the end of a bolt of fabric I bought a number of years ago, "Shadowplay", I still have a small amount left, wish I had more. I need to keep my eyes open for another bolt like this.
When it came to the wadding I decided to put together all my bits and that has taken most of the day. Before I leave tomorrow I will spray baste them all in place. (That will be another new experience for me.)
And I have my reference book (which I borrowed from the library) in the bag.
This is my first time away since I took ill so I am a bit apprehesive about how it will all go.
The next embroidery is all ready to go. This is a traditional style of stitching from Norway. It is very like Japanese Kogin but stitched with wool on linen. I have stitched a sample bookmark using the Japanese technique, i.e. starting in the middle of the fabric and thread. This time I am going to trial the Norwegian method, starting at the top left hand corner and the end of the thread. It is on 40 count linen so I think I will need to use a a magnifier.
I am also using up 'orphan blocks' for CQ 4. I have another row of 5" blocks to go around the edge and perhaps another red border or perhaps just red binding.
I have 'fudged' some of the measurements to fit the blocks together but I think once it is quilted this will not be too noticeable.
This quilt has now gone off to be given to a first nations boy who has been taken into care.
Natalie Bird brought this fabric to our patchwork group from the manufacturer who prints her designs, as a donation. I added the borders and backing from my stash.
The backing is printed with gum leaves and I quilted the main part of the quilt in a circular design and channel quilted the borders.
I now know that I can quilt a single bed quilt on my domestic machine. The next step is to work towards quilting larger quilts but this one marks a mile stone for me and I hope the recipient likes it.
Back in 2014 (that's 10 years ago!!) I started quilting my heart quilt. Before this I had hand appliqued 365 blocks with hearts.
I stuffed up the quilting big time, then tried to fix it, only to make it worse. So, I put it in a bag to put into the rubbish, but couldn't do that. I then hid the bag in the back of a cupboard.
One of my friends at Maberly Quilters had said how she wanted to learn how to needle turn applique, and I immediately thought of that quilt. Today I pulled that bag out again. The quilt was still there and the quilting was still terrible.
Now that I have looked at it I have decided to continue with the unpicking of the machine quilting. There are 100 blocks that need to be unpicked and if I can do one a day I should have them all unpicked by November.
I was thinking about cutting it up into smaller quilts but I think it would still make a good bedspread, it is far too heavy for a quilt and is 3metres x 3 metres in size.
One positive is that I now have the carry bag back for my overlocker!
Well, I took my machine to be repaired. They plugged it in, turned it on and it worked!!
Turns out the problem was the funny weather we have been having. It effected the power coming into the house and the machine said "I'm not working." (The less said about this incident the better.)
Onto other things
Charity Quilt No 2 - Horses
This is for a teenager and is a single bed quilt and pillow.
I had it quilted with a circular pattern by the long arm quilter. I did not quilt this one myself, only pieced it.
This view is better to see the quilting
I hope it brings pleasure to who ever receives it.
Well things have turned sour. My very expensive machine has turned up it's toes. I think it needs a new mother board, and that is going to be expensive to fix. It is all packed up ready to take into the dealer for repairs and I don't think that that will be less than $2,000.00, but it has to be done. The only redeeming thing about the whole affair is that if I decide to upgrade or just get a repair the machine will become my daughter's in the future. I know she will use it and enjoy it .
In the mean time I am in the process of setting up my old machine. I was told by the dealer that Bernina is no longer making spare parts for this machine so if it fails that is the end of it.
At first I was destroyed by this turn of events, I bought the machine thinking it would see me out, but, it is something outside of my control and I know that I did nothing that could have brought on the current set of circumstances. I looked after the machine with regular cleaning and services.
Now I have to finish the quilt I was working on, only the border to quilt and that will fit under the opening in the old machine.
Then sew on the binding for the horse quilt on which the quilting is all finished.
You can see the quilting pattern better on the reverse side.
But tomorrow I intend to embroider all day, until my hand and wrist will work no more.