The Festival of Quilts

Yesterday was an amazing day!  I went with some friends to the NEC for The Festival of Quilts.  I went last year and loved it so I think it is now going to be a yearly pilgrimage.  I cannot possibly explain everything that I saw, bought or discussed; it was overwhelming, but I will mention some highlights.

I made some good fabric purchases (and have already begun working with some of them in a baby quilt today) but I am going to save them for a Sunday Stash post.  I didn't just buy fabric, however, as I treated myself to some lovely Aurifil thread.  I keep reading about Aurifil's great qualities so I am going to put it to the test.  This collection is called The Zingy Collection and I love the colours.  They will be brilliant for my projects because I love vibrant colours.  I was swayed by a small reduction in price, but I think they are great in any case.

I am really pleased with the gadgets I bought.  I went with the intention of visiting the Bloc-Loc stand because I keep reading about them and seeing the precision you can achieve with them.  I bought the Half Rectangle Triangle rulers and the Drunkard's Path rulers, which are two shapes which will be new to me, so I am really excited to get using these soon.  There was a great atmosphere at this stall and the lady demonstrated them really well.  I also bought a Clover Hera Chalkless Fabric Marker which I am going to use with my quilting, especially creating diagonal lines.

Inevitably I spent quite a bit of time at the different long-arm quilting specialists.  I would love one of these machines and  to become skilled at quilting using one.  They are serious purchases, though, due to the cost, space and time it takes to develop expertise, so (on this occasion) I did not come home with one.  Maybe in the future, but certainly not yet.

As I like to include a Friday Finish post on Crazy Mom Quilts, today I am showing a quilt I made a while ago, but which has not been on this blog before.  It's made from fabrics left over from other quilts and has four large log cabin blogs made using Rasterquick as well as then a small central one.  I like this quilt because I think the blue and green fabrics work well together and I like the figures from the Creative Thursday Just for Fun range.  I have backed it in a largely white fabric.  I like this quilt because I think it would work equally well for a baby boy or a baby girl.  This quilt was not made for any one in particular, so it is now for sale on my Etsy shop.  Hopefully someone will like it and make it theirs.

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A Baby Quilt - a finished project

One of the great things about quilting, or doing any craft for that matter, is that there is always something new to learn.  I'm a teacher by profession and not so long ago there was an expectation we teach "Three Part Lessons" (I won't go into it here) but this quilt reminded me of this because I learned three key things along the way.

Firstly, this finished quilt provided a lesson for me in long-arm quilting, and I am pleased with the overall look and feel.  Today's finished quilt represents such a departure for me because of the swirls and curves because I am usually limited to quilting using straight lines.  To the untrained eye it must seem like any other quilt I have made but I feel proud of this quilt because I learned a new skill and applied it with some success.  Obviously I am no expert yet, but quilting also teaches that practice does make perfect.  Hopefully I will be able to develop my basic skills further and show my progress on this blog at some point.

This quilt was made with scraps from other quilts but I really like how the fabrics interact.  The greens and blues work well side by side and I like the light backgrounds on many of the squares.  The backing fabric is by Red Rooster Fabrics and I think that it's called A is for Animals. I am pleased with how the letters match many of the colours on the front.

The second lesson I learned here is that variegated thread might not be the right choice for long-arm quilting, especially on so much white.  This comes as a shock to me as I cannot resist a variegated thread but the next time I use the long-arm quilter I am going to have a go using a solid thread throughout because I wonder if this thread is too busy when there is so much quilting on the front.  That's just another example of learning throughout this craft.  I need to try it, compare it and decide which I prefer.

I chose a red gingham fabric for the binding on a whim but it has worked brilliantly.  I think the red brings out the red on the front and the back but also gives it a classic feel even though there are contemporary fabrics on the front.  Here was also my third lesson.  The binding is the best I have ever sewn because I looked up a tutorial by Red Pepper Quilts and I was then able to make the binding less bulky and more regular.  I haven't finished it off on the machine, I finished it by hand, but a future lesson will be to finish binding on the machine.  I think there is something extremely motivating about the fact that there is always more to discover, to learn and to perfect.  

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P.S.  As my blog is relatively new and in a bid to increase the number of readers and followers I am linking to Lily's Quilts who has a monthly link to boost small blogs like mine.

The long and short of it

My favourite part of making a quilt is the quilting.  I love getting the walking foot on the machine and choosing variegated thread and putting a pattern on the quilt, usually one which defines the piecing of the quilt.  I do know that on my sewing machine and with my experience, this is rather limiting and I would like to be able to quilt in a much more original and exciting way and I am always struck by the workmanship that can be seen on a quilt that has been long-arm quilted.

I keep mentioning long-arm quilters to my husband but the possibility of getting one is made immediately prohibitive by the need for serious cash, a lot of space and a concrete floor.  There's also been the issue that I have never had a go at long-arm quilting so any thought of buying all this kit would be a shot in the dark.

A friend found a second-hand frame on Ebay this week and I was interested in purchasing it.  This would not be as comprehensive as a top-of-the-range long-arm quilter, but it would be an opportunity to develop my quilting skills at a more affordable price.  I was interested and spoke to Lynn at Craft Den, who has one such frame and seems capable at any craft she touches.  We had a chat, she looked at the offer and I decided this was not my time.  Lynn, keen for me to make an informed decision, instead offered me tuition on her frame, which I immediately took her up on.

What fun I had!  I can't say I am an expert yet, but I think I showed potential and as I expected, I really enjoyed it.  Here are my first attempts at drawing pictures and creating different shapes:

And, then I had a go at long-arm quilting a baby quilt I started last week, and I am pleased with the progress I made.  This does not look like any of my regular quilts, where I am limited to straight lines.  I am glad I have had a try but I want to make the right decision and am going to use my trip to The Festival of Quilts next month to approach stalls, ask the right questions and consider the finances and commitment.  After having a go I am definitely very interested in owning one at some point.  I am so grateful to Lynn for letting me have a go!

So, that's my "long" news.  My "short" news comes in the form of a cushion I am making using Liberty Tana Lawn.  The pattern is from Quilt Now and uses small half square triangles and quarter square triangles.  It's certainly piecing on a small scale and I tend to avoid that.  I'm hoping to finish it tomorrow.

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