Beautiful Handwork

If you spend any time at all online looking at quilt blogs or checking out Pinterest posts you know that there is in no way a shortage of talent in this world that loves to interpret needle and thread into beautiful and functional quilted works. The combinations and interpretations are constant, varied and always interesting. But every now and then you see someone's work and it just stops you in your tracks. You pour over it, examining every little detail.

Last week I had one of those moments. Linda, from Quilts in the Barn, shared images of Nathalie Méance's work from the recent Pour L'Amour du Fils show that she attended in Nantes, France. She has kindly let me share one of her photos with you (you know, a little eye candy to get you interested), but don't stop here - check out all the lovely shots that she took and be certain to click on the images so that you can see them in greater detail.

Nathalie's work is amazing. The combination of embroidery and pieced blocks creates a richness, depth, sophistication, and a softness that is hard to describe. They don't shout at you but they do draw you in to spend time exploring each and every little seam and embellishment - they exude a love for the craft. You can see a patient layering of fabric and thread and ribbon and beads, coaxing each to a new and lovely interpretation.

Her book The Embroidered Quilts Fairy Pirouette, is published by Quiltmania and includes all of the projects that she had at the show. Might need to add it to your reading list....M

Spot's Back

While I was digging into my basket for more strips to cut hexies for Minnie I came across a baggie with pieces from Spot that I started last summer and decided to pick it up for a while as my hand stitching instead. I remember why I had put it on the shelf for a while - I was coming to the end of the white that I am using and needed to figure out how to transition to a new white.

I had enough to make 4 more blocks with the original white so they are all done now. I've also decided to use a little white-on-white print for the rest of the blocks.

The quilt is currently 5 x 6 blocks so I toyed with putting each of the 4 new blocks on each corner along with a white border the same width, but it just wasn't doing it for me so I'll still use the 4 for the corners on this round and the white-on-white blocks for the rest of blocks. When I see how big it is I'll decide if it needs another round or not.

This is what the original white looks like...

and this is the white-on-white (the blocks aren't pressed yet).

It's a subtle difference but once it comes together I think the difference will be more obvious. I think that I have 7 or 8 of the second type/colour made as well. Much as I love the little hexies it's been nice to have longer runs of fabric to stitch....M

Pillow Problems and a Dancing Pumpkin

My quilt-as-you-go scrappy pillow top is now finished and sewn to a backing but when I stuffed the form the corners were all wonky. After I played with it a little while I took the form out again and realized that it was really poorly filled - there really weren't any corners to it at all. What to do?

I had seen a technique recently where you taper the seam allowance a little more generously into the corners so that they sit better when turned right side out and had done that, but things still were not right. So, I have a bag of fiberfil that I use to stuff my little felt birds with and I tucked a handful of it into each corner. It did the trick and it looks much better now.

So it's all stitched up and on the love seat in our spare room. I started this as a project to give away but I think that I might just keep my first effort. I think that there are 3 other pillow forms the same size in the sewing room so I'll check out their corners before I stuff my next attempt.

I loved this process - it's not that far from how I assemble the journal covers - and the dense machine quilting leaves such a great texture. It's also nice to see a collection of fabrics that you love all in one little place. Happy, happy, happy.

In the midst of my re-stuffing I happened to look out the window and couldn't help but notice a giant pumpkin dancing in the driveway next door. Not giant, giant, but about 4 feet tall...maybe I was channelling the Great Pumpkin by finishing my Pumpkin Patch at Midnight table topper? Turns out the little girls on our street had discovered a discarded Halloween decoration and decided to use it as a costume. It was great watching the little feet dancing merrily at the bottom of this big, orange pumpkin. Interesting to see its careening path as well, since there were no eyeholes cut out :)  ...M

Coming Up Off The Floor

I received a cute nudge a week or two ago from Deb at Wonky Girl in Australia who follows my blog saying that she was missing seeing progress on the Pumpkin Patch at Midnight. I believe her exact words were "Hey - can we get back to this one? LOL - I was really enjoying watching the blocks come together; wanna see a finish, please ;-) ". Well, what could I do but oblige?

I'd been stalled a little bit waiting for more of the mottled black border fabric so the blocks have been sitting on the floor outside my sewing room patiently waiting to be assembled. I guess I could have put the blocks together but I was too busy distracting myself with other projects.

Anyway, the day I received her note I had actually started working on it, so we were on the same wavelength, but every little nudge helps.

You'll remember that I injected a few different colours into the occasional ring within the 'pumpkins' to create more interest and I also wanted the rings to be a little wonky when they came together - not perfectly aligned all the way through.

The wonkiness worked to a certain extent but, in hindsight, I think it would have helped if would have varied the widths of my strips a bit more - they are all pretty consistent. I have some wonkiness but not in a really big way. Hopefully it will be seen as wonky and not as a really bad job of assembling the blocks!

All said though, I do love it, every last bit of it.

The cat is out of the bag on this one. Since Jane is the Queen of Halloween it's a birthday present for her (does it matter that her birthday was in February?). She's quite excited about that so it's extra incentive to get it finished. I figure that if she needs it for Halloween then I have until the end of September, no? And Jane, if you get it by then you'll have Deb to thank.

Now the real challenge begins. I want to machine quilt it with cobwebs but I have never done free motion quilting, so this could get really interesting....M