Design Wall

Sorry I was missing last week from the Design Wall post but we traveled to the UK on business and didn't get a chance to access the computer.  Unfortunately, I lost all that quilting time but did manage to get to a couple of quilt shops while we were there and pick-up some Superior Threads and a quilt magazine so not a total loss.

I originally thought this was going to be a simple project but just building the stratas alone took me almost a week and then I had to cut the squares out and build the rows.
Here are the blocks on the design wall.

When we returned from the UK I loaded my quilt on the frame and knocked out the free motion quilting in a little over a half a day so I was pretty happy with that part of the project.

  I like the design work and now am ready to consider binding it.  The way I see it I have two options.  One would be to just flip the back over and bind it on the front which I have never done but it seems like a simple enough process.  My concerns is if this will diminsh the look of the quilt and does it really give the quilt a nice finished look. 

My other choice would be to do a traditional mitered binding in a slightly different color than the back but still complimentary to the front. 

I would love to hear from some of you more experience quilters on your thoughts toward binding.  I am just not sure if the flipping over process looks as nice and finished as a traditional binding.  Also, is it as easy as they make it sound?  And any color preferences on the binding?

I will be traveling to the US on Sunday and away from my quilting and computer for the month of April.  Will miss seeing everyone's work but look forward to catching up when I return.  The upside to my trip besides getting to see our families of course will be visting as many quilt shops as possible.  Who knows I may even  find a workshop that's on while I am there.... my DH will be so happy!

Design Wall Monday

 

I finally got the separator bands attached and the final black border for the french braid.  Now I am struggling with which big borders to go with to finish it off.  I really like the matching horses strips but unfortunately I only have enough to do the bottom or maybe the bottom and a couple of sections on each side with a solid color.  We are going to do the applique project for the top border so that is taken care of.  I think that I am getting to that point in the quilt...you know when you just want to be through with it!!  Any input is appreciated for the borders.  I was playing with the purple or blue from the braids.  I was leaning toward the purple because that is the color for the back and she is a girl so blue might be a little masculine for her.  What do you think?

St. Patrick's Day Luncheon and Cross Stitch

One of the ladies from my quilt group held a luncheon today for St. Patrick's Day.  It was great fun and the food was incredible!  We had a white elephant gift exchange and the competition was fierce.  I originally took a great handbag from one of the other ladies but it was quickly taken from me as well.  So my next gift to open had my name all over it and I told the ladies before I showed the contents that St. Patrick's Day is my wedding anniversary and we have rescued basset hounds in the past so it had to be mine.  Luckily, they all agreed and this cute little guy came home with me.

A friend of mine, Suzanna is a big embroidery person and when I saw the gift she placed on the pile I hoped that it would be something homemade but I never thought it would be this cute! 

And yesterday Andrew and I went to pick up a couple of things we had taken for framing.  I have been working on this cross stitch for about a year off and on.  I wish I had thought to take a picture before we had it framed.  Even though they use that non-reflective glass you still can't get a very good picture once it is behind the glass.  I am hoping that this lady will grace our foyer in the house in France one day soon.  I had a lot of fun sewing it and have already begun the next pattern. 

And last but not least...I have been playing around with some new quilting designs in my head and took this one for a spin on my sketch pad this morning.  It took some time to get used to the motion of drawing this one but once I got it, the result is pretty good I think.

Our quilt group is having it's annual exhibition in mid-May and I really don't have a quilt to enter this time other then the one I put in the Dubai show.  All the quilts I am working on at the moment are gifts for people we will be visiting in the next month.  I can enter my french braid from the Dubai show for exhibition purposes only but not for judging as that is our group's rule.  I would really love to create a top that would let me do some nice quilting on it.  My problem is that at the moment I just have no idea what pattern to go with for that purpose.  It would have to be something in a wall hanging size I think in order for me to complete it in time as I will be away from my machine for the entire month of April.  I could probably use my sister's machine to piece the top while I am visiting but would want to wait until I got back to my machine before I quilted it.  And if it just doesn't come together this time then I will have a whole year before the next show to work on something spectacular!

Andrew's Applique Idea

So my DH has been encouraging me everyday to plug along at getting these three quilts finished before we leave for Texas at the beginning of April.  I have one top complete and the second is getting really close.  I am attaching the separator bands and looking at adding the borders on it this weekend.  Three of the borders should be a no brainer I'm thinking.  The top border is where Andrew came up with his applique idea that we just have to incorporate somehow.  I have only tried applique once and didn't really know what I was doing but it turned out okay, not great, but okay.
Here is his design to go on the top of the horsey quilt.  I think it is really cute and if I can make it work will be very happy. 

Andrew has already fussy cut the horses out and we still have to decide on the background fabric  (probably one of the darker braid colors) and then we will build the stable around the horse and add Ellie's name on the name plate.  I think it is  a really cute idea and will make it a really special gift for her.  So, I guess I will be doing my research on machine applique this weekend and see how it goes.  I have decided to use the double button-hole stitch for the horse to help  it stand out more.  Ricky Tims shared that trick with us in Dubai and a couple of ladies have tried it already.  It makes things look a little 3-D. 

Any tips you ladies have that already know about machine applique would be greatly appreciated!

Design Wall Monday

They were too big to fit on my design wall at 90 inches each in length but this is what I have been working on for the last week.  Sorry the quality of the picture is not the greatest.  The middle squares are from the Laurel Burch collection and I just love these horses.  The pattern is from the book 'French Braids' by Jane Hardy Miller and once you get into the mindset they really go together well.  This is similar to the quilt I did for the Dubai International Quilt Show but I added in the blues this time to get more length to fit a bed.  I am working on the separator bands today which I decided to do out of the same fabric I used in the small squares with black piping on both sides.  Then I am onto the borders.  The sides and bottom will be out of the coordinating Laurel Burch fabric and the top is an applique design that Andrew thought up and made out the for me.  I haven't had a lot of applique experience but after he put all that work into figuring out the dimension I just feel like I have to give it a go.  Wish me luck!  Please be sure to check out what everyone else on their design walls on Judy's page.  http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Design wall Monday

I started another french braid top this weekend.  This one is for Ellie in France.  She is the five year old daughter of the couple that is watching over our house in France.  I have only met her a couple of times but I have to say she made quite an impact.  As the adults were standing around debating the merits of a septic tank she became bored with the conversation and said, "we have to go now, I have a date with my boyfriend to go horseback riding!"  I knew then that she and I would probably get on just fine.  Love that spirit!  Anyway, we have some fun ideas to try and incorporate in this top if we have the time to try it before I have to get it quilted and delivered in March.

I was very lucky that Andrew had a long weekend so he was a great help in the quilting room. 

He prefers the cutting and pressing part of the quilting experience  which works out fine with me.  I love being to sit and sew and it makes things go a lot faster!

Hopefully, I will finish this top in a couple of more days and get ready for the applique fun that we are hoping to try out on this one.