Finished, at last and in the spotlight

As I walked into my studio this morning, the sun was coming through the window and there in the spotlight was my blue broken star. I had just completed hand stitching the binding last night and now my finished quilt was shining in all its splendor. Finished, at last.

Today, I want to share with you the method that I used for the binding.

First I cut strips of one of my coordinating fabrics, piecing as needed to get the length. I make enough to got around the quilt plus at least 6 inches extra. Because this quilt has an uneven edge, I allowed a bit  more.

I fed one end of the strip through a Clover 18 mm ( 3/4") bias tape marker.

I pulled the bias tape maker along and pressed the strip as it came out.

Then I opened one side of my coordinating tape and stitched it to the quilt edge for a binding. This strip was then folded around to the back of the quilt and hand stitched to the back.

Blue Broken Star 

44" x 44"

©2011 Sharon V. Rotz

The basic pattern for a broken star quilt is available at my website.

How will you make it your own?

Tuesday's Tiles

Quilter's Tile - Ghosts of Koi
8" x 8"
©2011 Sharon V. Rotz

One bright and sunny day, the happy little quilter decided to brighten up her garden with a soothing and serene pond full of colorful, orange and white koi. The little quilter dug and dug and filled her pond with clear, clean water. Cheerfully, she admired her beautiful koi as she placed them in the water. How she loved their bright, intense orange color.

But, as the fish splashed into the water, their brilliant color began to bleed. Alas, they were not colorfast. The sad little quilter was left with nothing but ghosts of koi.


Moral of story: Always test your koi before adding them to your pond.




Today's Tile was made using Jacquard's Dye-na-Flow and Lumiere paints. The orange Dye-na-Flow was marbled into the background. The metallic olive Lumiere was painted on with a round brush. The fish were drawn on with Zig Textile markers. The borders were fused on with Lite Steam-a-Seam. The free-motion quilting was done with a rich rust Madeira rayon thread.


I enjoyed each step along the way in this project, exploring and trying new things.

I tried a new way of finishing the quilt. (These steps were done before quilting.)

I pieced the back leaving a slit to turn the quilt. I then layered the backing, top and batting and stitched totally around the quilt.

I turned the quilt, only to find that the corners were not not firmly stitched and starting to pull apart. Oops!

As you can tell by my lack of concern, things like this often happen and I just carry on.

Plan 2:  I am now "rounding" the corners. I'm going to like this so much better now!! (Actually, I did.)

After turning the quilt, I hand stitched the opening closed. I then pressed the edges and machine quilted my quilter's tile.

I did like this finishing method and I would do it again.

Squares, Anyone?

What is it about squares?

Do you finished off your quilts with quilted squares (crosshatching)?

I've found this is one of my favorite, go to, choices for quilting areas of my quilts. Is it the consistency of the pattern? Is it the predictability? Is it the way the light hits the surface giving each little square an area of highlight and shadow?

Again, I have found myself falling back to this old favorite. It seemed to set off the other areas of quilting nicely. Quilting squares is not always the easiest to do. It can involved a lot of starts and stops or constantly turning the quilt. Today, I've chosen to free-motion my squares. It will eliminate the turning and stopping but it is  definitely a challenge to make straight and even lines.

Do you find squares a perfect choice for your projects? What is your best working method?

Small Play, Quilter's Tiles

Quilter's Tile #1

8" x 8"

Sharon V. Rotz

No, I have not finished all of my larger quilts. I am still quilting on my blue broken star. I still have grand ideas and more large projects floating around in my head ready for their moment.

But, I have found great joy in making small quilted projects which I am calling Quilter's Tiles. There are so many things I want to try. Everyday, I am inspired by something I see on another blog or read about in a quilting magazine.

I can't wait to try new ideas and have found a fun way to experiment and end up with a finished project. It may be spectacular or it may be a dud, chances are it will be somewhere in between. Mostly, it will be a learning experience.

Because, I want to share the fun with you and get your thoughts and suggestions, I will be posting my Quilter's Tiles on Mondays. (See I've already missed this week.)

Stop by and see what's happening.

Lullaby or a March?

 
As you can see, I'm back to quilting my broken star quilt. All the stitches that I took out are back in. It was easier the second time and I made doubly sure that I checked the back of my quilt to see that the stitch tension was fine. In fact, I checked several times.

See..... a lesson learned, well..... truthfully........., re-learned.

I enjoy seeing my quilt take on its personality. Before I started, it was just a flat surface, granted, a rather nice flat surface, but it was definitely lacking charm. The quilting adds so much to a quilt. It's when a quilt really comes into its own.

Will the quilt's personality become a soft, soothing lullaby or will it speak with the crisp, sharp notes of a high stepping march? Today, my quilt is bringing forth its voice with smooth curves, highlighted with wonderful puffs and flatten spaces.

My sewing machine is calling. It's back to stitching.