Machine Quilting

Last week I started out with a new projekt: improve my machinequilting skills.

For the sketchbook -challenge I not only do want to try surface design technics that are new to me, but also improve my quilting skills.

I started a new sketchbook and pasted in some of my doodleings from my agenda. I already did a few samples which I stappled in the book and started an collection of sample pads the will form a book later. I am not sure what the binding of this samplerbook is going to look like but I have got some ideas from books, I did in the past. I might make a box for the books too.
While sewing on the samples I got the idea to make a simple book cover for a fotoalbum as a present for my parents to bring along the next weekend.
Below you can see the back of the finished cover and then the front of the album. Tomorrow I am going back to a shop for a nice shell button to add a closure.

Clean up and Experiments

Last night I started to prepare the materials for a two day workshop this weekend. "Experimentale Sewing" is the theme. We are asked to bring Colette Wolffs book "The Art of Manipulating Fabric" along, if we got it and lots of different materials, not only textiles.

While searching through the basement with all the materials I came again across several UFO's and got sidetracked as you can see in my post, too.



Well I got most of it together now, decided to also pick-up some UFO's to finish them. I will add new technics to them, I intend or already started to explore.



First is this brown/beige something I started about a year ago, intended for my MIL's 80th birthday but then did the one below. I wanted her to have something really personal from me!



The colors are hers truly, not mine. But I see it as a challenge to change and add till I like it too and it is truly mine!

As you can see I started by adding a few strips, but that is not the (whole) solution yet! To be continued...

Spring in December

Look at those wonderfull trees in the park of the clinic I work. With that blue sky -rarely to see during late fall an winter- I had to take a picture to show you. Even it has snowed quite a lot in the mountains, it is all green down here.

On the textile side not much going on. Just mending socks and a pyjama. And the bathrobe I finished for my parnters daughter is waiting for some glizz.

Birthdayquilt/Geburtstagsquilt

Last November I did some sketches during a boring meeting. To one of the drawings I was especially atracted to. I knew this would be a quilt. But I had to postpone my ideas till February after passing some further job education.
The quilt to be was to be the present for the 80th Birthday of my mother-in-law.

So I layed out a background fabric in a light green I new she liked an added a few leftover stripes in similar or contrating colors.

After a few days I started to piece little log cabin like blocks, layed them out. Then I enlarged the sketch to the original size and copied it on freezerpaper to know the size needed for the little blocks.
Some of the blocks I sewes together rightaway. Others I moved back and fore, some I threw out. When the three pieced sections where done I did not like the background fabric any more. After searching in my stash I could not find the "right" green. But I found one in our tiny quilt shop in town.

I then cut the background along the freezerpaper. Finished piecing the top and prepared the quilt sandwich. Fixed the layers with invisible thread and started handquilting. First I drew a few wavy lines with taylor's chalk on the top and quilted it with handdayed "pearl yarn" from Melody Johnson, which I had saved for years and never dared to use! I added sleeves on top and bottom and the label with a picture of Annelies, my mother-in-law.

Voilà. Flow #1.
I liked the sketch and the piecing on the little blocks so much, it led to many new ideas.