My favourite thread for machine quilting, African quilt and Elaine Quehl’s Hand dyed fabrics

I have fallen head over heels in love with The Bottom Line by Superior Threads, a 60 wt polyester that comes in almost 60 colours! It has a lovely silky sheen and simply melts into the fabric. It is terrific for dense quilting because you don’t get a heavy thread build-up; I love quilting feathers with this thread and I think a neutral taupe would be fab for applique! I buy my thread online from The Cotton Mill Threadworks in Dundas, Ontario. If I need help I just call Anita; she is extremely knowledgeable and is a tremendous help with thread and colour selection. And I really enjoy her blog, Filaments.

I quilted this small piece with The Bottom Line. It will be auctioned at the Yorkshire Rose Quilters' Guild Clothesline Gallery Silent Auction which will be held at the Danforth Mennonite Church on May 8^th. If you live in Toronto Canada please feel free to attend the auction. Heck, you are welcome even if you don’t live in Toronto!

This is another little quilt that will be auctioned. It was made by my 92 year old Mom. In an earlier post I mentioned her African quilts. I plan to take some pictures of her work for your viewing pleasure so do stay tuned! Here's a little teaser.

 

Finally I just couldn’t resist posting a picture of some of Elaine Quehl's beautiful hand-dyed fabrics. They are so lovely that I am reluctant to cut into them….but I’ll get over it! Elaine’s blog has lots interesting information and ideas!

Until I post again, happy sewing!

Breaking with tradition

I started out as a traditional quilter and am still drawn to these types of quilts (hexagon quilts are among my favourite). I've lost count of the number of quilts than I've made over the years and although I will contiue to make traditional bed quilts, I find that more and more I am drawn to what can only be described as "art" quilts. I'm not sure how to to define an "art" quilt but I think it's just one of those things... you know it when you see it! I think the art quilt often has less to do with function and more to do with ornament although one might argue that the Gees Bend quilts are art but they are also functional pieces.

Books and workshops that explore non-traditional quilt making are a great source of inspiration and information. In the Spring of 2012 Pat Pauley of New York came to Canada to teach . As a result of what I learned in her workshop I made this wall hanging which I named "Darlington" after a nuclear power plant in southern Ontario. In this picture it is not quite finished. I eventually bound it with a facing so the edge is clean. It is heavily machine quilted with a variety of swirls, circles and lines.

This piece is very different from anything I've done before. In the coming weeks and months I'll post pictures of my traditional quilts as well as my non-traditional pieces. An of course there will be the odd curio from my cabinet! I hope my work gives you as much enjoyment as making it gave me!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H