Aspen Autumn, Finished!

Greetings Blog Friends,

Aspen Autumn is finished!

 

As you can see, Aspen Autumn is very linear, very vertical.  I think I was right when I felt that an all-over curved meander quilting pattern was best for this project.  I know that I like the finished piece.  It is by no means perfect, and I need to practice more with free motion to try to get more uniform stitches.  But, I think it is not bad for a first attempt.  For me, it's definitely a keeper.

 

Next time...a new project in the works.  Snack Attack!

 



Aspen Autumn, Finishing Stages

Blog Friends,

I am happy to report that Aspen Autumn is in the final, finishing stage.  I completed the quilting on it today, and hope to finish the binding tomorrow night.

I quilted Aspen Autumn with a large meander (stipple) pattern.  It was my first attempt at free motion quilting.  Up until this quilt, almost all of the quilting I did by machine was straight line stitching.  Because Aspen Autumn is so linear (you'll see what I mean when I post the final picture), I wanted something different and decided on the large meander in a random pattern. 

As I said, I had not done any free motion quilting up until this time.  To prepare, I watched several very good videos on line and picked up some quilting tips.  I also did some practice stitching each night.  I had some (not so favorite) fabric along with some leftover batting from previous projects.  I made myself some quilt sandwiches, and filled each one with random curves and shapes.  

After a week's worth of practice, I felt it was "now or never", and decided to just do it.  The quilting is not perfect, I have some uneven stitches here and there, and some jerky stop/start points.  I tried to do most of my stops and starts in the darker gray fabric.  If I was grading this, I'd give myself a solid C... for satisfactory but not outstanding.  But, I'm happy with it (because it is done!) and am going to display it each fall. 

Next post will be the finished quilt!

Marshfield Quilt Show 10/26/13

Hello Bloggers!

Last weekend, Denis, Mom and I attended the Treasures of Tomorrow Quilt Show in Marshfield, WI.  It was a smaller show, but very nice.  We got to see the work of quilters outside our usual area, and to see and meet vendors from other cities as well. 

Here are some of the quilts that were our favorites:

Alex's Bookshelf.  This one won two ribbons.

This one is called Pumpkin Hollow Town Square.  It has a pieced center section as well as a pieced outer border.  The blocks surrounding the center are all embroidered.  Each block is quilted to enhance the embroidery.  Here's a close up of one of the blocks.

This one was an applique wall hanging called African Safari.

Here is an album quilt with a Christmas theme.

 

Here is one with a Dresden plate variation.  This is one of my favorite blocks.  I have yet to make a Dresden Plate quilt.

 

 

As you can see, there was a wide variety of quilt themes and styles.  We had a great time at the show.

Aspen Autumn, Blocks on Point

Welcome Back, Blog Friends!

Again, it has been several weeks since my last post. 

I've set the blocks on point in long vertical rows.  Here's a peek at this step.

I needed to order more fabric from Connecting Threads for backing.  I haven't been sitting idle during this period, tho.  I've been to a quilt show, made a scrapping Christmas gift, and have been working on Aspen Autumn.The top is finished, and it is layered and pinned, ready for quilting and binding. 

Stay tuned...I'll show you the finished quilt soon!

I've also been working on my next project...more on that next post.

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