Showing posts with label medallion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medallion. Show all posts

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

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Round 2 for the parrot medallion is underway

And so round two of rosettes for my parrot medallion hexagon quilt begins. I want to add a round of rosettes to the medallion but I want to create a unique effect with these rosettes.


I have two strips of leftovers from Birds in the Loft. The rosettes will eventually surround the parrot medallion but for now what I want is to remove the stars. There is one star at either end of each strip so I've got four of them to work with.


I like to construct my quilts in sections. I start with small sections and then combine them to make a larger section. So to begin round two for the parrot medallion I made four rosettes using two toffee coloured fabrics. I added a dot print centre. It is the same print I used in the middle of the cream rosettes that surround the parrot. It is good to repeat prints in this way because it gives the quilt a more cohesive and planned look. I stitched four dark brown hexagons into a "V" shape and added it to the toffee rosette.


I made a unit out of seven dark cream hexagons and will stitch it to the toffee rosette. The dark cream fabric is darker than the cream fabric in the leftover strips from Birds in the Loft. I am hoping that this subtle different will add some depth and dimension to my quilt. The only place I will use this cream print is in this round of rosettes.


The last step to complete this rosette is to make a pair of "parenthesis" from an olive brown print and stitch them to either side. That's one down (almost) and three  more to go!


I'll need two rosettes made from the dark brown print and the olive-brown print. Once again I repeated the dot print in the middle of the rosette.


I stitched three dark brown hexagons and three olive-brown hexagons. They will attach to the top of the rosette as indicated below. Does this look goofy? Well hang on a minute because it will get better!


I next made a "V" with three brown hexagons and another with three olive-brown hexagons. They will be stitched to the bottom of the rosette. Can you see how the colours appear to be intertwined? That's is what I am trying to achieve by using the two colours, dark brown and olive-brown!


I next stitched two hexagons from the red print on ecru fabric that I used in the first round of rosettes and to each I added a cream hexagon (the same fabric that surrounded the first rosette in this post).


And with two of the stars I'll make these units. The stars are surrounded by the dark cream and there is one red print on ecru hexagon at the bottom.


I'll need to create some connector units made of two or three hexagons to join all of the units I've made today. I also need to add a round of hexagons to the two remaining stars. Lots of sewing to do. Also I realized that I need seventeen pairs of rosettes to make up the background. I really enjoy making the rosettes so it isn't a hardship! Sew, sew, sew!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Quick and easy flying geese tutorial and Jack Bush


My first tutorial is now up! I’m sure that there are loads of different ways to make flying geese but this is my favourite because it makes four geese at one go and there is no wasted fabric. As you may have gathered from my nine patch blog I hate throwing out even the little pieces. If you haven’t tried this method give it a go and be sure to let me know what you think.
 
Flying geese can be used in so many interesting ways. Try using them as a border for a medallion quilt. They can also be used to make Ohio star blocks and Dutchman’s puzzle.
Ohio Star (4")

Dutchman's Puzzle


Used as a border


Yesterday was busy and productive. I finished quilting two pieces. I quilted one of my Mom’s African pieces. She will bind it with a facing and then she’ll embellish it with beads and assorted findings. I’ll post some pictures of her work in the near future. My piece is titled “Jack” and all that I need to do now is to block, trim and bind the quilt with a facing. The quilt measures 15 ½ x 17”. It is homage to Jack Bush, a Canadian abstract painter. His painting Striped Column was featured on a postage stamp in 1964 and it was my inspiration for this quilt. His work is striking in its simplicity. This painting was also inspiration for a block of the month pattern I did about a year ago. Let me know if you would like the pattern posted - it is super easy and makes great use of scraps and solids!
 
Jack
 
The border fabric is a lovely hand-dyed from Elaine Quehl.  Elaine is a published Canadian artist, teacher and dyer.
 
Until I blog again, happy sewing!