Wednesday 11 September 2013

WIP Wednesday

I've pretty much been working on my ongoing projects this week. I managed to get a couple of extremely overdue bee blocks done (as in some from May and June that I'd totally forgotten about!!), and I'm hoping to get completely up to date on my bees in the next week or two.

More quilting on the Full Moon Lagoon quilt. Thanks so much for your lovely feedback last week - I've decided to keep going as is and hope for the best. The quilting looks completely different when you step back from it - I think when I'm up close to it for a long time all I see are the imperfections. It is slow going, but also lots of fun changing between different motifs all the time. The blue and green sections are done and I've started on the light part at the top. 


Leanne asked me an interesting question about how densely FMQed quilts look once they're washed. (I have to be honest here - I don't wash my quilts straight away. Retro Flowers is still unwashed and will probably not be washed for a while.) My Groove quilt from last year washed really well - but the quilting was quite even across the quilt. This one varies in density a lot (deliberately), so I'm really not sure how it will go. The bits I'm most unsure about are the parts I've left unquilted - the sea horses and some random logs through the quilt top. Has anyone had experience with this sort of thing?


My Marcelle Medallion is growing too. The first border is on and I've cut my triangles for the next border. I've decided to restrict the palette of the triangles after seeing Heidi's amazing version. I probably will make the other borders more scrappy, but this one is just the warm prints I pulled. I'm enjoying making this quilt as much as I'd hoped :o)


I've also started cutting my purse for Sara's upcoming Purse Palooza - I'm so excited to be a part of it this year! 

I hope everyone is having a great week! 

xx Jess

14 comments:

ChristaQuilts said...

To answer your quilting question, based on my experience, how it holds up depends a lot on the batting.

For example, cotton will shrink up way more than wool. The more quilting there is the less noticeable it is. If I use wool batting and quilt the heck out of it - it looks the same after being washed. I usually wash and block my quilts to prep them for hanging in quilt shows - so they hang straight.

Hope that helps. I am so in love with this quilt!!

Leanne said...

I love that quilt, and your medallion is looking great too. I will come back to read more answers to your / my question, I see Crista's answer above.

Renee said...

It looks gorgeous! Can't wait to see the pink and purple areas quilted next :-)

Hilary said...

Wow your quilting looks amazing :)

Farm Quilter said...

I finished a quilt earlier this year that I mixed super dense quilting with moderate quilting in each block and I used a "Frankenstein" batting (frugal me pieced the batting from a number of pieces left over from other quilts, mostly Warm and Natural cotton and Dream Green poly). When it was finished, I washed it and blocked it for a show and it turned out great. I could not tell the difference between the battings, it was soft and cuddly and the quilting looked great. I did pre-wash my material and that would make a difference in the shrinkage too. Love your quilting on this quilt - please keep posting more closeups of that awesomeness!!!!!

Erica said...

I love your Marcelle Medallion! I'm looking forward to getting started on one of these in the not too distant future.

Katy Cameron said...

All looking fabulous as ever missus! I have the pattern cut for my Purse Palooza effort, but that's it so far... Oh well, I have until the 21st October for mine ;o)

Susan said...

Your quilting is stunning Jess! This quilt is going to be an absolute winner!

MsMidge said...

STUNNING Jess!

Heather D. said...

Why yes, I do have experience with that - on my most recent project which you saw. Any unquilted areas will be poofier than the rest, but looking at your quilt it doesn't look like there are very many areas like that so I don't think it will make a difference in the grand scheme of things. In my most recent project I had a LOT of unquilted areas and the rest was densely quilted and that resulted in my edges being a bit wavy (I guess the excess has to go somewhere, right?) but once bound it all evened out.

Rachaeldaisy said...

I love seeing what you are working on. It's interesting to hear peoples thoughts on quilting density and washing, and the difference batting does/doesn't make. Your quilting is really amazing and suits the quilt so perfectly. Your medallion is awesome too, great fabric choices!!

Anonymous said...

Great to see you are getting so much done. That quilt is still looking incredible.

nicole said...

I just love the quilting on this one so much Jess! It keeps getting more and more amazing! And the start of your medallion is looking pretty sweet too!

Lynette said...

And Full Moon Lagoon - wow!! You have really got it going between these two. Most excellent projects, both. :D Are you using a cotton batt (I guess I really mean an 80/20)? If so, I can say from experience that it washes pretty well with the variation in density such as you've got going, because you can block it when you dry it and the batting in the less-dense little pops can be patted nicely into behavior. Dries wonderfully.