The first B word is back as in the back of my quilt. I continue to quilt 81 and thought you might want to see what it looks like on the back! On the left you can see a bit of the centre panel which has stars and hexagon rosettes. Each was outlined with quilting. As I quilted the background I decided that the stars and rosettes needed additional quilting and it made a difference.....a nice difference. On the right you can see the basket border with the appliques outlined with quilting and then the background filled with the same doodling or free form quilting. I just quilt whatever tickles my fancy and will fit in that spot! There are a few spots that I've missed and will have to go back and quilt. As for my thread choices, on top I've used a grey white thread on the centre panel and grey on the baskets but in the bobbin I used the same thread, Superior's The Bottom Line in silver (#623).
In the next picture you can see the difference when the background filler and the extra quilt on the stars and rosettes is added. On the left and centre the filler is quilted. On the right it hasn't been done nor has the extra quilting been added to the stars and rosettes. It is time consuming doing all of this quilting but I think it is worth the effort.
Next I have two B words, backing and bargain! I bought the backing in the home dec section of my fabric store. It is over 100" wide and it is a soft pale grey tone-on-tone print that almost has the look of a subtle hounds-tooth check. It is 100% cotton and has a lovely silky feel. It was on sale for $12/m. I used it in my Lazy Girl quilt top and on the back of this quilt. I decided that it looks so nice and quilts so beautifully that I should buy more of it. So I went to the store and it was reduced to $9.60/m so I bought all that they had which was 4.5m! What a bargain backing buy! I like to use quilting cotton but I don't limit myself to quilting cotton. It is you quilt so you can do whatever you want!
My last B word is butterflies! Several readers asked how I did the butterflies on the front of 81. I have two fabrics with butterflies on them (by the way both were bargain buys). I cut out the butterflies leaving a seam allowance of somewhere between 1/4" and 1/8" all around the butterfly. I made a clip at the top and bottom toward the body. I did the same at the side where the upper and lower wings met.
In this picture I've turned under the edge of the wings on the left and just finger pressed. I didn't do this to the butterflies for applique on this quilt but I could have. Instead I placed them on my quilt top and tacked them in place with thread. I then turned under the seam allowances for applique. You will notice that a little bit of the background will show where the wings meet but I don't worry about that!
Here you can see a butterfly appliqued to the quilt top before the background is quilted.
I free form quilt the background and when I got close to a butterfly I stitched all around it. Once the background is quilted the butterfly kind of puffs giving it some dimension!
So there you have it - another bunch of B words! Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H
My last B word is butterflies! Several readers asked how I did the butterflies on the front of 81. I have two fabrics with butterflies on them (by the way both were bargain buys). I cut out the butterflies leaving a seam allowance of somewhere between 1/4" and 1/8" all around the butterfly. I made a clip at the top and bottom toward the body. I did the same at the side where the upper and lower wings met.
In this picture I've turned under the edge of the wings on the left and just finger pressed. I didn't do this to the butterflies for applique on this quilt but I could have. Instead I placed them on my quilt top and tacked them in place with thread. I then turned under the seam allowances for applique. You will notice that a little bit of the background will show where the wings meet but I don't worry about that!
Here you can see a butterfly appliqued to the quilt top before the background is quilted.
I free form quilt the background and when I got close to a butterfly I stitched all around it. Once the background is quilted the butterfly kind of puffs giving it some dimension!
So there you have it - another bunch of B words! Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H
'B' for beautiful quilting and a bounty of advice and inspiration.
ReplyDeleteIt looks fantastic, Karen. And I love those butterflies you are adding. It's great to find a piece like that with individual butterflies. Now I wish they would make more of flowers that way so we could use them in broderie perse.
ReplyDeleteThis quilt is brain bogglingly beautiful!! The back is as wonderful as the front with all your wonderful quilting. The butterflies take the quilt to a whole different level.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work as ever Karen, love your little butterflies - a super finishing touch.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilting designs as seen from the back---shows the dimension the quilting gives!! As wonderful from either side. Here's my b word---bummer that I have to wait for your next post!!
ReplyDelete