Friday 29 October 2010

It's that time of year again...

...when Amy very kindly arranges the Bloggers Quilt Festival. For many of us (myself included) who are miles from anything quilt related, the BQF is a fantastic chance to see what other quilters around the world have been up to.

The quilt I am showing I just finished this morning.
 It's my interpretation of a quilt from the Kaffe Fasset book Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts. (A little aside: I automatically used to think of Amazon for books but this is a link to who I now use: The Book Depository which offers free worldwide postage and has a rather addictive world map which shows in real time who is buying what around the world).

As with all my quilts, they are made from my stash, nothing is ever bought specifically for a quilt and 90% of the fabric comes from the sale sections of websites. So...in my stash I found some big blowsey Kaffe Fasset flowers, some Amy Butler, Phillip Jacobs and some other bits and bobs I'd completely forgotten I had. The caramel coloured solid is a shot cotton I've had for yonks and I can't remember what it was.
 It sat for ages on my 'design wall' - aka the £10 office divider panel while I had a mini-obsession with Tufted Tweets (see previous posts for outcomes of obsession) and I didn't do much with it.

Yes, I know, not the most inspiring of photos.

I then added a couple of random borders and finally got around to finishing it this week.

I straight-line quilted it with a walking foot. I don't mark the quilt, I eye-ball it so I'm not claiming it's complete 'straight'-line quilting but that's absolutely fine for me. I'm not here to make prize-winning entries, just to have fun. Once I had eye-balled the first line I then did a line either side, both of which lined up with the edge of the walking foot. I also have a play around on a piece of scrap quilt sandwich to make sure my quilt tension and stitch length are OK. For straight-line quilting I find a stitch length of 3.20 works best on my machine - Bernina 440QE

The backing is a Phillip Jacobs I had to hand, spliced with a Kona solid. I put my quilts together with a spray baste. For years I used pins but I'm definitely a spray baster. Not only does it save time but if there is the beginnings of a pucker when I am quilting, I can just lift the offending layer up and smooth down. I also have my iron on and sometimes iron a specific area of the quilt just as I am about to start quilting it. The only 'negative' thing I can say about spray basting is that after quilting for a while, your needle seems to pick up some of the glue residue and you get a little sticky bob bobbing up and down the needle. Not the worst thing in the world to happen and I just unthread and ping the glob off.
Thank you again to Amy for hosting this - I can imagine there's a whole lot of work involved. I'm off now to see what the rest of you have been up to.




43 comments:

  1. Beautiful - just beautiful. My quilt is a Kaffe one, too.

    Carol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thats so lovely and vibrant. I still haven't tried spray basting, one of these days I'll give it a go on a small quilt to see how I get on.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your version of Kaffes quilt. Very good on the fussy cuttting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ohhhh, I changed my vote, this is my new favorite of your quilts! I love it! And it is nice to know it is okay to eyeball quilt lines...I do that too, and sometimes feel like I should be more of a perfectionist....but I am not a pro and I give these away for free, so who would complain??

    I am madly working at finishing my "entry"...hopefully done before next Friday's close!

    Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is sooo pretty! I love the flowers!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oooh I really love this - gotta love a bit of Kaffe and all those strong fabrics look wonderful against the caramel.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is beautiful!! Gorgeous fabric combo and love the back too!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful! I love that you said that you used scraps for yours, like I did for mine (although to me it looks like you bought them with this quilt in mind, they work so well together!). So pretty, it makes me wish we were going into spring here instead of winter!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love snowballs, and your fussy cutting and quilting are so beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I just love your quilt. I love snowballs and I love the fabrics you used. It is wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. gorgeous colors...makes me happy and inspired just looking at it

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wonderful fabrics, and the colours go so well together. I wouldn't mind owning this one ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, i love that , looks fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very nice. I love your color selection. Mine (a Kaffe also) was done in reds/maroons/dark purples, pinks, etc. I actually like your color selection better. I spray baste all the time. Never have had any problems. I just periodically clean the needle off as you do. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wonderful fabrics fun quilt. Kaffe is awesome, as is your quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  16. A great way to show off beautiful fabrics. Love how the back turned out also.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh what a beautiful quilt!! I too am drawn towards fabrics designed by Fasset and Jacobs and Carla Miller too. Martha Negley is another good one. I want them all!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I made a snowball quilt this summer. It was fun but more work than I expected. I love yours! I love the fabric and especially like how you quilted this.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I really like the carmel background that you used- It is perfect for resting the eyes with all the rest of that beautiful color. I had the good fortune to see Kaffe Fassett speak here in Edmonton a few weeks ago. His color choices are so rich and I have a nice little box of his fabrics collected to make a quilt.
    Enjoy the blog festival- there are many wonderful quilts and stories.
    Regards,
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wonderful use of colours! This gave me av feeling of summer again (and up here, we are having just a litle snow right now). Hugs from Norway!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Gorgeous quilt! I love all the Kaffee flowers and the background fabric gives the eye somewhere to rest.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Well this is just beautiful and I'm impressed you had those Kaffe Fassett fabrics 'just in your stash'! His fabrics are very expensive downunder. I'm all for making use of what you have in your stash though rather than buying specifically for a quilt although sometimes you have to. Thanks for sharing this very pretty and feminine quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wonderful quilt - Kaffee is my hero!! I love anything and everything he does! You did a great job of fussy cutting the large florals - and the quilting is perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great quilt with a wonderful line of fabrics. The pieced back really helps being this quilt together! Another great finish!!

    Angie - www.craftedAngles.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. Beautiful! Love your straight line quilting.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love the beautiful Kaffe Fassett fabrics - perfect for a snowball quilt. Definitely a quilt I would like to make someday.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I LOVE this QUilt!! It is so spectacular!!Great fabric choices.. i love when people mix fabrics up a bit and make their own combinations!! Its just beautiful xx

    ReplyDelete
  28. So pretty! And I don't know where you live but it sure looks beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Love this! Kaffee Fassett has kind of a crazy genius about his quilts and fabrics. This is a great interpretation of his work!

    ReplyDelete
  30. This is stunning with all those beautiful fabrics.

    ReplyDelete
  31. This is a wonderful way to use such fantastic colours. I love the way your quilt turned out. It looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  32. It is beautiful! I love the vibrancy of the prints against the solid caramel.

    ReplyDelete
  33. This is like a millefiori paperweight. Beautiful!

    Leslie S. in MN
    esclante at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete
  34. Beautiful quilt! I also love the one in your previous post as well!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Gorgeous! I love your attitude about just having fun. I do have to say your lines look pretty straight from here, therefore they are perfect. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Wow - I am under the impression that your blog looks wider tonight or is that just my imagination?!

    ReplyDelete
  37. So chic! I love it! I am also a spray baster. My only complaint is that usually spray baste ends up everywhere after I am done, and inevitably, my hands feel sticky no matter how many times I wash them. Its definately one hundred times better than pins though!

    ReplyDelete
  38. gorgeous quilt! I love all the floral prints.

    ReplyDelete
  39. It is fantastic! Love the flower explosion and the geometry keeping it safe.
    Thank you for stopping by my blog. I am happy you did, so I could discover yours!

    ReplyDelete
  40. lovely quilt. those fabrics are just fantastic. like the whole thing!! thanks for sharing and have a great day

    ReplyDelete
  41. love the effect of the big blowsy bright flowers with plain spaces in between, really highlights the flowers. i also love the book depository and watch the little map...is it real do you think, or just made up? great to have free delivery, especially to Australia. And by the way...congratulations on your up and coming wedding day! Have the most wonderful time!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Great use of the floral prints! So so so pretty!

    ReplyDelete

01 09 10