Wednesday 18 March 2015

Quilting again!!

In an effort to blog more regularly, I've decided to start doing WIP Wednesday posts again for a while. I'm tending to make more time consuming projects these days, so rather than go weeks or months without posting, I think having a weekly 'check in' will work well :o) As a bonus, this week has seen the return of my motivation to sew at last! I've been feeling really flat since I came home from Austin (jet lag hit me hard), so it was a relief to want to go down to my studio again yesterday.

I was keen to start using some of the ideas I got from the classes I took with Angela Walters and Krista Withers, so I took my roll up of Cotton Couture from Polka.Dot.Tea Fabrics, sorted them by value and sewed the strips together until I had a quilt top. We got a couple of new furry family members while I was away, and I didn't realise how much more complicated basting a quilt would be with two kittens trying to eat the safety pins. (They fell asleep on the quilt after a while though, so I think it has kitten approval at least!)


From there, it was simply a matter of using some of the ideas Krista shared in the class I did, and trying out graffiti quilting for the first time (thanks to the amazing book of the same name by the ridiculously talented Karlee Porter. If you've never heard of her, go have a look now. I promise you won't be disappointed!) I'm about half way done - and I'm having an absolute blast. I'm using a double layer of 100% wool batting, and the texture it's giving this quilt is phenomenal. 


 

I have to admit I find this kind of quilting quite difficult - it's pushed me right out of my comfort zone. I guess it will get easier with practice, but even if it doesn't it is so much fun, and I'm determined to do more and more of it. I decided from the outset that I wouldn't rip anything out while I was quilting this quilt, but use it as a learning experience as much as anything. I have a tendency to be ridiculously critical of my work, so it's been quite liberating just letting myself play and not worrying too much about whether it's 'good enough'. Some areas of this work better than others, but I'm really happy with the overall texture so far :o)


 I'm hoping to get this one finished in the next week or so (especially since the intended recipient was born almost two weeks ago!). I have a stack of other things I should be doing rather than this (cough bee blocks cough) but I needed to get this idea out of my system first :o) 


xx Jess

19 comments:

Charlotte said...

it's really really gorgeous! I love the texture. Also, KITTENS!!!!! I demand pictures!

QuiltLaughLove said...

That is gorgeous! Would love to know what thread you're using.

Renee said...

It's so gorgeous! I like your version of the graffiti quilting a lot more than Karlee's or any of the other versions I've seen. I think the reason I don't like her style of graffiti quilting is that it is rather chaotic, she has a lot of different things going on in most of her quilts and my eyes just don't like looking at it much. Yours has a theme, and everything flows together. It's much more aesthetically pleasing! Next time I really want to take Krista's class, I love her style of quilting!

Cheryl said...

As always, your quilting is simply stunning. You transformed a simply pieced quilt top into a masterpiece!

Ben said...

Your quilting is wonderful! I especially like the bits I'd call "beaded paisleys" -- don't think I've seen anything like that before. I'll have to give that a try!

Leanne said...

It's beautiful and I am looking at it and thinking I should do some more practicing like that too. Wonderful about the kittens, we are sure loving ours even though they are now rowdy teenagers.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

I think it is really easy for us to be super critical of our own work. I am always glad to hear that I am not the only one. I am truly trying to embrace Angela's suggestion to be proud of our work because we are doing our best work now. I really like how you have a lot of movement across the colored stripes with the quilting; that adds a lot of visual interest. Did you do anything other than pin baste with the double layer of wool?

Beth said...

This is amazing! I need those classes maybe one day!

Ella said...

Your quilting always floors me. I need to branch out from straight lines...

Anonymous said...

This looks fabulous! I love how you separated the graffiti part into "rows" with the straight line quilting in between. I love it!

greeneggs said...

I'm loving this. The quilting is brilliant.

Kirsten said...

Your quilting is just stunning Jess! I really love the pebbly quilting amongst the swirls which remind me of water droplets.

Naomi said...

Absolutely gorgeous! I can't see why you would want to rip any of it out!

Peta - SheQuiltsAlot said...

So so great Jess and great idea about the weekly posts :)

Lisa in Port Hope said...

I love how you used the different curvy motifs and then the straight lines as "background". And of course it stands out so nice on the solids. I'm going to Pin this, one day I might try something similar.

Farm Quilter said...

Your quilting is amazing!!! I am blown away by the way you can quilt with a DSM - incredible!!! I'll have to have a go at your "pattern" on a quilt on my longarm!!!

KaHolly said...

I went through a let down, too, and it feels to to have the creative juices flowing again. I've been away from my Janome, all winter, but this beautiful work you've shown here makes my mouth water for my machine again!

Sue said...

Fantastic quilting as usual Jess. Incredibly inspirational

Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts said...

I love this sooooo much! I blame you for my need to keep quilting my latest quilt. Normally, I'd have stopped with what I've done, but after seeing this the other day, I haven't stopped thinking about ways to fill in the diagonal lines!!