Friday, June 26, 2015

Two finishes (sort of)

Today I have two finishes for you. When I say finishes I mean they are quilt tops but they are technically not "finished" because they are not quilted. They will eventually be quilted but I've got a trunk show in July and if I baste them for quilting they will be far too bulky to take to the show. My trunk show will be part of a huge outdoor quilt show in Toronto. It will be at Black Creek Pioneer Village and the name of the show is Quilts at the Creek. I went in 2013 and there were over 300 quilts on display. You can get a sneak peek of what I saw here.  If you are in the Toronto area you really should plan on attending this show. It is well worth the price of admission!

I have finished the border on Value Proposition hexagon quilt. When I last showed it to you I had a print border at the top and bottom and an off-white border on the sides. I thought the side borders looked rather bland and unfinished. They needed something dark on the edges. I have an old wavy print in my stash so I cut it out and appliqued it on top of the off-white border.


This is the finished quilt top. I like the result.


I also managed to take a picture of my "edited" Birds in the Loft hexagon quilt. At 128" long it was just too long so I removed two rows of hexagon rosettes from the top and two from the bottom. This is the before picture.


This is the final quilt top after the rows were removed. It is still large but it is much more manageable and I think it looks more like a quilt and less like a carpet!


The extra hexagon rosettes will be used to surround my parrot medallion quilt. The leftover stars from the border of Birds will be incorporated in the medallion. I've already prepared two of them for the sides of the frame for the medallion and I've now completed the second pair for the medallion. These two will be above and below the medallion.


Now I can start putting the hexagon frame together so I can add it to the parrot medallion. Pictures will follow! I'm also going to start cutting strips of fabric for the extra rosettes I need to surround the parrot medallion. Work, work, work but oh what fun it is!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

24 comments:

  1. Oh WOW Karen. All your work is fabulous! Have you ever used Inklingo when making your hexies. Sorry if I've asked you before, but it is so much easier ( in my opinion) than using papers. Whatever - I love all the quilts you make. You are amazing chopping 2 rows off each end of Birds in the Loft but as you said it is much more usable now as a quilt. 😊
    ,

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  2. YES! They are both stunning and you discovered just what they needed to make them more amazing. All your work is gorgeous. I'm sure your trunk show is going to be the hit of the event.

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  3. Beautiful Karen! The wavy print is a perfect touch to the edges - and the shortened quilt does look better - how clever of you to remove the rows!

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  4. Wow!! Those are both fabulous. I really love that border fabric on the top and bottom of the first quilt. Super cool.

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  5. Again great work Karen. I like the border of the first quilt and "The birds in the loft" are absolutly breathtaking!

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  6. Well done on a little bit of tweaking so that you were extra happy with them - they both really are lovely. Quilts at the Creek sounds like a great event.

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  7. Oh I sew wish I could attend your trunk show. Toronto is only 3 hours from home yet I'll be 5 hours away camping and working on my Value Prop. Good luck!!!

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  8. Oh Karen I do love the darker border on the Value quilt I have yet to border mine. Both quilts are spectacular. What date is the quilt show in July. I would love to try and get there. Hugs Bunny

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  9. I learn so much from your work, and from reading the well thought out comments. Letting us all know of your design decision to shorten Birds in the Loft, surely made some of your fans rethink our own work.
    Can you discuss with us all how you start and then carry out, your designs?

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    Replies
    1. Hi jp, this is just a test...do not adjust your set ;)

      Karen emailed me and said that I am a "no reply blogger" like you, but as we can see, I have no problem replying to you, and my post looks like anyone could reply to me too.

      I am new to Karen's blog and am just amazed at her work! Such exquisite detail!

      Anyhoo....let's see if my reply to you works.

      Thanks

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    2. Hi Charlotte - I'm so glad you enjoy my blog! I do have fun making quilts and hope that what I'm sharing will inspire others to get creative!

      I just wanted to clarify that both you and jp are noreply bloggers. What this means is that you can leave comments on blogs and reply to comments but your email address is private. Each time someone leaves I comment I receive and email with their comment and I like to send a response to the commenter however if your email address is private I have no way to contact you. It also means if you enter giveaways on other blogs you likely won't be entered because your email address is private which means if you were to win there would be no way to contact you. To make it public you would have to make a change to your profile. It is generally a very easy thing to do. Hope this helps!

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    3. Here is a link to a step by step tutorial that explains how to update your profile so that your email address is available: http://anyonecandecorate.blogspot.ca/2012/09/are-you-no-reply-blogger-how-to-fix.html

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    4. Hi Karen,

      haha...thanks for the info. I had no idea that I was a "noreply blogger". Thanks for the link to get that sorted out!

      Spent the day sewing yesterday and the Juki really is special. I absolutely love it!

      Take care

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  10. The border at the Value made that it looks Old-fashion. I like that. The shorter birds in the loft is better I think. And now you don't need a king-kingsize bed, haha. Toronto is too far away for me, but I think it will be a great Trunckshow. Groetjes, Dientje

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  11. Oh yes--the wavy fabric adds the perfect touch--love it! It must have been a bit of a chore to remove those rows, but at least you are able to put the pieces to good use. I wish I could be at the show--I know it will be wonderful.

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  12. Wow Karen, beautiful! Your work is amazing!

    Have only been able to play very briefly with my Juki, but I am in love! Gorgeous stitches and such a beautiful machine. Thanks with your help with my purchase.

    Charlotte

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  13. I am a very lucky person, because I spent Thursday with Karen, her mother, and three other gals, having lunch and our own show and share...we all had Hexie works on the go..and Karen gave us ideas and suggestions. Best all all, we got to see both of these two quilts, "in person". They were fabulous.

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  14. I wish I could attend your trunk show to see your beautiful quilts and tops. Well done getting these 2 finished in time.

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  15. Replies
    1. Thanks so much! Sorry I couldn't send you a personal note but you are a no reply blogger! :-(

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  16. Your finished tops are gorgeous, Karen. Just beautiful. Wish I could go to the show in Toronto, but it's a bit too far for a weekend trip.

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  17. Glory be that is one awesome quilt!! Man I sure wish I could see your show as well as the rest you'll snuggled up with at the Park. Congrats Karen, you are one fast hand sewer!!

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