Carol's quilting journal

2011 - try and post more!!

2011-02-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

This is a small wallhanging that I quilted - a friend Jean did the design - we entered a challenge for a calendar and ended up on the front which was nice.

Went on a river trip on Kaipara river - very lovely.

Well the quilting conference went really well!

Since then life got really busy, my Mum died, both daughters moved out to go flatting, and we had builders in - we still have them.

There were visits from overseas relatives and my Dad bought a new house.

Hoping it calms down, I am working pretty hard and looking forward to starting back at Carey Bible college in two weeks time. Have signed up for two courses this semester - we will see if I can manage it.

Still cannot work out why photos always go to the top - oh well, All other photos must still be on the camera.

Will try to blog regularly.

Just to prove I am still managing to quilt: lets see if I can remember how to post photos!

Classes at NZMQC samples

2010-07-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

Hi, long delay in next entry. However - here they are.
Samples made for my classes at the Long Arm quilters Conference in Cambridge next weekend!!

this is a seascape made with strips of material laid on a quilt sandwich, covered with washaway and heavily quilted. It is finished now - but I don't have a photo yet.

these are two small items made for friends - before washing to remove the washaway;

and after completing them.

Here is my attempt to quickly produce a fish hanging like Susan Carlson, but faster!

At the snippets onto sandwich stage;

At the covered with washaway and quilted stage.

Here is my map all complete - It was entered in the Dorothy Collard challenge and won a merit award, which was a surprise - but a very nice one. I made a snippet map to go behind the lace map. I called it layers of time.

It even ended up in NZ Quilter which is nice.

Well that is me - until after the conference - I still have much preparation to do.

I have a skirt of machine lace to wear at the dinner - but it is not yet finished.

enjoy your week

Machine Lace - map

2010-03-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hi people - I have finally found out how to compress photos so uploading does not take all day!!

Plus I have the photos of my machine lace on water soluble fabric done.

This map is just to be the top layer of an artwork - but illustrates the technique.

1. I load up the water soluble onto my long arm quilting machine.

2. Then I machined a grid on it - to make sure my quilting does not fall in pieces once washed out. This is not strictly necessary - but it suited the map theme.

3. Then I used coloured threads to machine lace the different parts of the map - it took ages!

Here it is - I drew the map onto the fabric first - a great advantage of the fabric over a plastic film, it is much easier to see the picture.

This is the completed map in thread - before I washed away the fabric.

I should have turned this round before I uploaded it - anyway - here it is with the fabric washed out. I am quite pleased so far.

This is really easy and fun to do - and you do not have to do such crazy big projects! Tho the advantage of the fabric is it is really tough - you could remove it from the machine to work - and repin it on later - so could work in instalments.

As I do other samples I will post them.

Ramblings and excuses

2010-02-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

Hi, big break. This is because my husband's Mum died - quite suddenly - and all my plans got thrown into disarray. I have nearly finished my bag tho - and am catching up with work.
My camera has been returned - hubbie pinched it - so I can take a photo again now.
So very soon - service should be resumed. My ability to spell has taken a big dive recently - I hope it is stress.

Handbag and camera case

2010-01-28T17:23:00.000-08:00

Hi, completed last quilt for month yesterday - so today got my bag stuff loaded up to quilt.

This is the front flap and book pocket for the back.

This is my new camera case - so I can carry it around at all times in my new bag! Not that it matches the bag - but never mind, variety is the spice of life.

This is the body of the bag and what will be flying geese down the sides - if I can get them to line up properly.

Quilt it tomorrow - show the result then.

Reverse Sewing!

2010-01-27T15:23:00.000-08:00

Hi, yesterday was a learning experience. That is positive speak for - my clever idea did not come off so I had to try something else. I went back to tradition and cross hatched the embroidered panel in the quilt I was working on. Great it worked - looks pretty good. Cross hatch is hard, time consuming and a pain. Now I had to go back to the other embroidered panel and unpick all the quilting done there. Agh - one and a half hours later - phew done.
Could not face tackling cross hatch after that - so I left it until this morning - when I did it - fine all done. I do not enjoy thinking what to do in embroidered panels. Any ideas anyone?

For me - I am working on a bag - a handbag to beat all others for practicality, looks and it will have everything. Including a book pocket so I can borrow my son's books and take them out with me for a coffee. He is very fussy about his books - there are rules if you want to borrow them. My books all look very well used indeed.

Quilts of 2009

2010-01-24T12:32:00.000-08:00

Thought I would try and post pictures of quilts that featured in 2009, both at shows and that I completed. Now I need to find out how to put up photos!

This would be a highlight - I had this quilt "The Warrior" accepted for symposium 2009 in Wellington. It also was awarded a merit in the Art Quilt section. Though I completed this two years ago, and it was made in stages, the piecing first then the quilting and then the figure added, I still love it. After symposium I sent it to the World Quilt Show in the USA. I got some nice judges comments.

This quilt - The Murphy Quilt - was made for friends, and won best professional bed quilt at Calico Christmas in 2008, last year I entered it in the NANZQ show at Hamilton and it won best Machine Quilting.

Sorry should have rotated this first - oops. This was a small wallhanging also at Hamilton, called Flax in flower, and featuring photos printed onto fabric in my inkjet printer. It was made for a Canada/NZ challenge and the fabrics were very interesting.

This wallhanging was made in one step - loading up a quilt sandwich onto my long arm machine, making the picture with snippets of material added, then triangles, threads - then a layer of water soluble flim, it was quilted, the blue shapes added over the top and quilted down. then the whole thing was soaked to remove the water soluble. It was great fun to make.

Ok there will have to be a 2009 part two! Work is calling.

First blog online!

2010-01-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

I realised a need to have a "presence" on the web, so people can see what I do, check on what I am up to and if I am doing classes, see samples etc.

I am very new at all this - so we will see how it goes.