Garden for Birds - Rainbow version

Hello!  After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back!  I'm hoping to start posting with more regularity again, but, we'll see...

Anyway, this quilt has been finished for a while, but I haven't previously found the motivation to post about it.  It's the third quilt I've made from this pattern (my own).  This is the original Garden for Birds Quilt and this is the Garden for Birds Quilt 2.

I made this one over the course of last year as I taught this quilt pattern for the second time.  It was nice to sew along with my students (although all my stitching was done outside class time, of course).

 

This time I went back to something slightly more along the line of my original quilt, with rainbow colours and a low volume background.  A little black sneaked in as well, since I was going high contrast with this quilt.

Simple quilting seemed to be the way to go, so I quilted a large scale meander design over the whole quilt, choosing Aurifil in my favourite colour, 2021.  To make the quilting stand out a little more, I went with a 40 weight thread instead of my usual 50 weight thread - its still subtle but just that bit heavier.

My stash is pretty out of control, so I have been trying to make quilt backs from fabrics in my stash rather than buying yardage for quilt backs.  Sticking with the rainbow theme, I used a selection of cheerful prints for the back of this quilt, which I rather like.

I'm about to start teaching this class again for the third time.  Every year, my students come up with fabulous and different interpretations of the pattern - I'm excited to see this year's batch of quilts!

Adventures in teaching - part two

Ok, on with the rest of the classes I taught this year.

 

These equilateral triangle quilts are from the equilateral triangle quilt class I taught at Stitchbird.

 

This is yet another class I taught twice this year, once at Stitchbird and once at Nancy's Stitch Studio.  Unfortunately, I only have photos from the Stitchbird class, but they were both great fun and my students did an amazing job.

 

The next few photos are from the free motion quilting class I taught at Stitchbird.  This was a two hour technique class, and so much fun.

 

I think free motion quilting is one of those things that is really nice to learn in person.  It's truly not that difficult, but having a little bit of encouragement and someone to make suggestions can make all the difference.

 

My students did amazingly well in this class, busting out a few of my favourite designs and then moving on to coming up with their own.  Awesome!

 

Last, but certainly not least, is my Garden for Birds class.  This one runs over six lessons, and is a form of sampler quilt, with students tackling a variety of blocks, piecing and applique. 

 

This class is always a blast to teach, because the quilts people produce are always so different from one another.

 

A few cats crept into these quilts, as well as other more creepy crawly creatures...

 

I would not have thought of doing an all solids version of this quilt, but I love how graphic and modern it turned out!

 

Another cat!  And I love this warm autumnal colour scheme!

 

The quilt above was made for its maker's third baby, who I'm sure will love it!  A couple of people in this class (and in other classes) had only just started sewing.  I love seeing people's confidence grow as they get to grips with sewing, and I'm always delighted when I get to the end of a class and know that people are converts to quilting!  

In this class, everyone started quilting their quilt by the last class, which I really strive for.  I always think it's nice, especially with a first quilt, to at least start the quilting in class.

So, that was my year of teaching.  It was pretty busy (not least because I was flat out at work at the same time), but so enjoyable.  Do you have any questions about teaching patchwork and quilting?

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Garden for Birds 2

Oh my goodness, I finished a quilt!  It feels like a very long time since I had a finished quilt to share with you, and I've been missing the feeling that comes with finishing something.

Anyway, a bit of history.  This quilt originally started out as a quick design sketch (yep, I am really great at drawing...).

And then I made the first version, for a friend's baby, in kind of similar colours to the original design (although a number of things changed).

This latest version uses a completely different colour palette (inspired by this quilt which my friend Anne has been working on) and the design has changed yet again.  I've been working slowly on this quilt for a while (you can see my WIP post from early June here) but this weekend I really needed to get it finished.

 

I'm teaching this quilt over a series of classes at Nancy's Embroidery, so I simplified some of the elements to make it more suitable for beginners.  I also added a greater variety of blocks to cover a variety of different skills.

 

I really had fun with this version - for example, those gingko leaves are reverse appliqué.  I cut the light part out of the fabric, put the green fabric behind, and machine blanket stitched it in place.  The two tone binding was a last minute choice - I really wanted quite a plain binding to calm the quilt down slightly, but I still wanted enough contrast so you could actually see the binding.  The light/dark split was the obvious solution (the light grey looks solid, but is actually the grey crosshatch from Architextures).

One thing that I was not very happy with in the last version of this quilt was the quilting.  Ultimately I didn't feel like it improved the quilt, and kind of only added to the chaos.  For this version, I really wanted to avoid that and went with a simple crosshatch pattern for the quilting.  I love how a crosshatch adds instant softness to a quilt, and in this case it totally does not distract from the piecing and appliqué.

I found a couple of garden themed fabrics in my stash that were just perfect for the backing.  I especially love that green fabric - I wish I'd bought more (and may have to hunt more out!).

So this quilt will be hanging out at Nancy's for the next couple of weeks, before I take it off to be entered in the Capital Quilters' exhibition.  Wellingtonians, if you'd like to make your own version, I believe there are still places in the class and you can get all the details on the Nancy's website.  I think it will be a fairly challenging class for a beginner, but if you come ready and keen to learn, you will learn a lot.

Quilt Stats
Pattern: my Garden for Birds pattern
Finished Size: approx 36" by 42"

Fabric: many

Backing: Petunia in Pink from Little Azalea by Dena Fishbein, Field Day in Green by Josephine Kimberling for Blend Fabrics

Binding: Kona cotton in Steel, Architextures grey crosshatch

Pieced and quilted by: me

I'll be linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

WIP Wednesday

This week I'm working on a second version of my Garden for Birds quilt.  I'm teaching this quilt later this year so I really need a class sample.  I also wanted to try it out in a totally different, more cohesive colour palette.

So far I've  finished the appliquéd borders, which I've simplified in this version so that the appliqué is set on solid fabric rather than a pieced background.  I've also made the HSTs for the faux flying geese borders but I haven't stitched them together yet.

 

I haven't done a lot of machine appliqué and my friend Helen (aka the machine appliqué guru) very kindly stitched down appliqué on the last iteration of this quilt.  She did a fantastic job but I really needed to work on my own appliqué skills and make sure this quilt won't be too difficult for beginners.  I managed it, so I figure my students will be ok!

I finished the central birds block last night.  It's definitely the fiddliest part of this quilt!

I'm excited to keep working on this quilt and see how it turns out different to the first version.

Have you made the same quilt more than once?  Did you stick with the same things or change things up?

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

Teaching at Nancy's Embroidery Shop

My mum taught me the basics of quilting, and with her help, I made my first two simple quilt tops (she quilted the first one for me, and the second one was long arm quilted).  After that introduction, I took an almost year long sampler class at Nancy's Embroidery Shop, where I learned all kinds of techniques I'd never tried before, like English paper piecing, foundation paper piecing, needle turn appliqué, piecing curves, etc.

Now, I'm very excited to be teaching at Nancy's myself!  You can check out the 2014 Class Syllabus here.  Here's what I'm teaching:

First up is a nice short technique class on my hand blanket stitch appliqué technique.  I'm working on a few different designs to stitch up and bring along, or students can make up their own design.

Next up is an equilateral triangle quilt.  No, it does not need to be as enormous as this one!  I need to make another of these for a class sample - any colour palette suggestions?

I had a brainwave over summer, and figured out a way to dramatically improve my hot water bottle cover pattern.  I'll be teaching that class in June, just when you'll need a nice cover for your hottie.

My Garden for Birds quilt is kind of a modern take on a sampler quilt, and I'll be teaching it over the course of the second half of the year. 

Finally, a class on a quilted Christmas stocking is at the end of the year.  This is an unquilted version, but I plan on making a few samples for the class, in different styles because I really hope people put their own spin on this pattern.

For the two quilts I'm teaching, we will be covering quilting and binding in the last class.  For me, quilting was the most intimidating part to learn, so it was really important to me that it be covered.  I know not everyone loves binding, but I do, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I'm hoping will help make it an enjoyable experience for my students.

Phew - I think 2014 is going to be a busy year!

Garden for Birds Quilt - finished!

My garden for birds quilt is finally finished!  The baby shower was this weekend so it is gifted and safely in hands of the mother-to-be.

 

The making of this quilt has been quite a process. I designed the quilt right after my friend found out she was having a baby girl.  I was really quite excited because all the other babies this year have been boys, and I was more than ready to make something girly.

 

This is the design I came up with - I wanted to make something fresh and colourful and a little bit crazy.  I started the quilt at a retreat, and it was a great opportunity to get a decent start.  It was also helpful having the encouragement and assistance of the other attendees - my friend Helen even did the appliqué on the birds and the leaves.

 

As I progressed, the quilt diverged a bit more from the original design. I enjoy that part of the process - tweaking and changing things.

 

Now the quilt is finished I think it will be just right for my friend and her baby - it's light and bright and has a touch of nature about it.

 

I'm rather pleased with the backing fabric I found - I wanted to use something with a white background to pick up on the white parts on the front, but I also wanted plenty of colour and pattern so that it's not totally impractical for a baby quilt.  It's an older Michael Miller print and so lovely with all the flower pots.

I'm linking this quilt up to the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side, in the baby quilt category.  Make sure you head over and check out all the other quilts that have been linked up - there's a wealth of inspiration there.

Quilt Stats
Pattern: my Garden for Birds Quilt

Finished Size: 36" by 42"

Fabric: various 

Backing: Michael Miller Flower Shop print

Binding: blue flower print from Spotlight

Pieced and quilted by: me, appliqué by my friend Helen.

Linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.  I'm also linking up to Sew Cute Tuesday which I'm delighted to see is being continued over at my friend Alyce's blog, Blossom Heart Quilts.

This quilt is the first of my fourth quarter finishes. I'll be linking up with Leanne at she can quilt as part of the 2013 Finish Along in due course.

WIP Wednesday

I'm still working on my Garden for Birds Quilt.  It has changed a bit from the original plan - that's the fun thing about a quilt like this.  Here's where I'm up to at the moment.

I'm hoping to get this quilt top finished up this week.  Then I'll have to think about the quilting.  On one hand I think something super simple since there's already so much going on would be good - on the other hand I think different FMQ designs to complement the different blocks could be cool too.  I guess we'll see what kind of mood I'm in when I come to quilt this one!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway - it's open until Friday.

WIP Wednesday

A good friend of mine is expecting her first child soon - a much longed for baby girl.  I'm so pleased for her (and also for myself, because I've been hanging out to make a baby girl quilt all year) and to celebrate I designed this completely over the top quilt.

I hope my sketch is encouraging to anyone else who is thinking about designing their own quilts - you can see that my drawing skills are pretty minimal (yes, those are birds and flowers) but that hasn't stopped me and it shouldn't stop you!

I really wanted to create a quilt that was fun and a little bit crazy, and would allow me to use lots of different colours and fabrics.  This quilt uses a variety of different techniques, including piecing and appliqué, but the intention is that it's simple enough for even a fairly novice quilter to make.

I spent the weekend at my first ever quilting retreat.  It was awesome - I got a bunch done and it was lovely to hang out with lots of quilting obsessed people like me.  I took the opportunity to make a start on this baby quilt.  I'm pretty happy with where it's going so far and can't wait to work on it some more this weekend.  I have to give a special shout out to my friend Helen (aka the appliqué queen) - she was on the retreat too and she did a beautiful job of the machine blanket stitch on the central appliqué block - thanks Helen!

Have you been to a quilting retreat before?  I'd definitely do it again - my only complaint was that it was too short!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced: