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.

I

Aspen Autumn Adding Some Color

Hello Blogger Friends,

Time to add some color to those HSTs!  These blocks are the next step in the process:

Next time, setting the blocks on point.

Aspen Autumn HSTs done!

Hello Blogger Friends,

I have some progress to report...my HSTs are done!  This pattern had an unusual way of making them (at least I've never done HSTs this way before):

First, I cut a 17" square of two fabrics.  I placed them right sides together, then drew a grid of squares on the lighter piece.  Diagonals were then also drawn in the squares.  Then, I stitched 1/4" from each side of the diagonals, then cut the  squares and diagonals on all drawn lines.  From the 17" squares of fabrics, I wound up with 32 3 1/2" sewn squares and a little bit of scrap.  I've never made HST blocks this way before, so this was a new one on me.

 

The stitching lines were a scant 1/4", so some of the squares needed to be trimmed just a slight bit to the 3 1/2" finished size.  Also, because I used a continuous line from edge to edge, each set of sewn triangles had a few stitches on the opposite corner (from the center stitched seam).  I quickly removed these corner stitches so I could open the piece up to press.

Next time, adding some color!

I'm back!

Hello Blog Friends!

Sorry I've been away for a few weeks.  I was on a scrapbooking retreat, then was working some long, long hours at work!  All of our contractors have been working doubly hard to finish projects before winter.  It seems that in the concrete business, the construction season is not over until the snow flies. 

I'm back to normal hours now, and back to my crafts.  I spent the better part of today working on Aspen Autumn.  See the following posts for progress reports!

--Susan