finished!

Finished!
On reflection, I realise it is 3 years since I last finished a quilt - Iggy's second birthday quilt. To say I'm not very productive is an understatement. No wonder there are so many things I forget. Eventually, it comes back to me but it can take a while - like how to adjust bobbin tension when machine quilting this quilt. There's another one to go and finish now - hopefully a bit faster this time.

underway!

I am finally underway with quilting my Kaffe Fassett quilt that was finished two years ago and basted last summer! I began with some ditch stiitching - something I have always intensely disliked as it's so hard to do accurately but I invested in a 10D Edge Stitch foot and now ditch stitching is a breeze.
Next I had to do some straight lines - horrors. So I purchased a Hera tool - there seems to be a solution available for every problem! It works well by leaving a crease on the fabric although you need the right light to see the line. Once I get all this precision quilting finished I can move on to the free form stitching which is the part I prefer.

other people's Kaffe conundrums

It is reassuring to know others struggle with Kaffe fabrics as well. Two examples of Kaffe's Ice Cream quilt below in different colour-ways. Each row is a fabric choice and a tormenting decision. Maybe more wine is needed.
The first quilt is on show at Still Quilting in New Plymouth and the second is a work in progress of a friend, Paula. Waiting to see it finished. Our lack of summer weather may bring this eventuality about sooner rather than later!

basted!

At last, this quilt top pieced at least two years ago is finally basted and ready for quilting. It only took a day. A whole day actually. Why was I not able to find one day in the last two years to do this? Anyway, one of my 2017 goals achieved. Now I need a suitable quilting thread and a design?
I feel some freeform machine quilting coming on.

another Kaffe conundrum

I had a very clear and simple image of the quilt I wanted to make with a selection of Kaffe floral prints I have. It was going to be so easy. But Kaffe fabrics never are. These three photos don't look like much but that was a weeks work, deciding on the main background colour and placing the 25 florals. 

Each square will be framed to double it's size and there will be a mixture of plains used. It's the quilt of the front of Kaffe's Quilts in the Sun book, which I don't actually own but...

The idea is to make an 'inside garden'. It will look much better once the blocks are made and spread the prints out but what is it with Kaffe fabrics?? - they promise so much and deliver so much difficulty! I'm always left wondering "do I actually like this?" I can see a little more fiddling needs to happen.