red UFO and my sewing room

Feb8

As my last quilt “Picnic with Bella” was fun (and also quick) to quilt, I decided to have a look in the wardrobe and check those UFOs, i.e. unfinished objects = quilt tops. The first one I found was the Red UFO top, found the matching backing and made a quilt sandwich with basting pins.

This quilt top was sitting on the shelve at least for 4 years. I always loved the quilt design, but my color choice since then has changed very much. These were my beginner years without any knowledge about modern quilting, following the classical color combinations.

I started quilting on Thursday afternoon and today midday I finished the quilt with binding. Once more I went for free-motion quilting with meanders. As the weather is warm and sunny, but very, very windy I could not take any pictures. I have cleaned up my sewing room and decided to take some photos here. My sewing room is half for me and quilting, and half for the books we have. My husband has a lot of fantasy novels and always has problems finding his favorite book as they are stacked in 2 rows.

Above a close up with my flower photos which are developed on metallic photo paper and have incredible colors. The pair on the left ares my parents about 55 years ago. The 2 small children are my husband Helmut and his sister Waltraud about 65 years ago.

Tomorrow I shall have a day of from sewing, but never the less I can think about my next quilting projects!

Have a nice Sunday, Barbora

my first quilt in 2014

Feb4

The almond trees have started to show their pretty white flowers. This means that spring is not far away. We can still have some cold nights in February, but the sun rays are getting stronger even in the morning hours.

So – I have finished my very first quilt in 2014 and it is called “Picnic with Bella”! This one is staying at home and is for my hubby Helmut for his everyday siesta on the sofa. I am planning to make a few matching pillow covers with the fabric rests.

The fabric I have used is from the “Bella” collection by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics. It came out at least a year ago, but I never had time to make a quilt. I have made another quilt with an earlier collection by Lotta Jansdotter : Abstract Dreams. I like her fabric designs and her color choice – modern, bright and fresh. There is a new collection arriving soon “Mormor” – you check it here at Hawthorne Threads.

A few weeks ago I have received a parcel from the UK from Cottonpatch with a new (for me) wadding type : Quilters Dream Cotton in Select. This is a mid loft thickness and it was wonderful to quilt. It is not too thick, but very soft and smooth. I think this will be my favorite wadding (or batting?) for my future quilts.

Quilt size : 54″ x 84″ / 137 x 213 cm – Finished block size : 6″ x 6″, one block with 4 half-square triangle units and the other block with log cabin units with mitered corners.

Free-motion quilted with meanders using Gütermann Sulky machine quilting thread in light grey, #1328.

I was so happy to find the fabric for the binding in my local shop Kate’s Craft and Quilting – a yellowish-green from Moda Fabrics that matches exactly with the Bella colors.

This all for the moment, thanks for stopping and looking forward to read your cheerful comments! Have a great week, Barbora

pillow covers and fmq

Dec3

The last few weeks were very quiet – both sewing wise as well as blogging wise. Even though I have received new fabrics, I didn’t really do a lot. I was preparing some patterns especially for lady-pupils that come to my open classes, taking in account all their quilt design wishes. Nevertheless I made these 2 pillow covers with the Swoon block pattern:

I have used all the rests from swoon blocks I have found and pieced another 3 pillow covers. All pieces are free motion quilted with meanders. Practice is the best teacher!

Pinwheels and broken dishes blocks in orange.

Thanks for visiting and till next time, happy quilting, Barbora

Swoon Pillow Covers for Kate

Dec2

swoon block - skalabara.com

swoon block red - skalabara.com

butterfly, thread and fmq

Oct27

There was no spectacular sunrise this morning to take photos, but instead I found a butterfly on the street. He looked like that he is having a rest. But he wasn’t – what I found was just a colorful dead body of a butterfly.

As I am going to Prague this Saturday I was finishing my last pieces that I want to take with me. I made more Christmas Tree Blocks – original design by Christen from Love By Hand. Each block is on its own and makes a nice table decoration or a wall hanging. I have used (as before) Kaffe Fassett fabric designs. Once I had made the quilt sandwich I realized that I do not have any of my “neutral” thicker quilting thread. But I had the exact hue in Aurifil Mako 50/2 as I have pieced the blocks with this thread. I just wasn’t sure if I can take it also for quilting. After some research on the web ( a nicer expression for google ) about threads I decided to stick with this lighter weight thread also for free-motion quilting. According to the motto : learning by doing. Over the years I found out that there are no strict rules in quilting. Each quilter can find its own way, own technique that they prefer, threads that they love. I have also done some experimenting with threads and I always go back to Aurifil Mako 50/2 for piecing and Sulky from Gutermann for quilting.