I'm getting ready to put the borders on my Swoon quilt for my darling daughter . . .
. . . and that brings me to a weighty (no pun intended) decision: what batting to use?
You see, this will be a humongous wall-hanging in a loft apartment with a nice, tall ceiling. I don't know if I should stick to a cotton batting like I'm accustomed to, or if I should go with something that won't be so heavy?
After all, this is going to hang on three hooks that will support a hanging rod in the hanging sleeve; the wall is a standard drywall number. I'll be trying to hit the studs in the wall, but I'm still worried.
Anyone out there have experience with hanging large quilts? This one will be queen size.
I've been looking around, and there's a dizzying array of options.
There's a batting called "Air-lite"....
There's my old faithful, "warm-n-natural"....
And there's even some with bamboo in them!
Help!!
Love,
Snoodles, Padsworth and DragonDrop are working on a new linky party that you will see here soon!
Here's where the idea came from:
Sometimes at church someone will say, "If someone looked at your life to see if you were a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"
That's definitely food for thought . . . but it also had me smiling as I thought of this -- as a quilter, would there be evidence in my home to convict me?
Not just the pile of UFOs that we all have . . . I'm talking finished items on display for enjoyment and comfort!
So, snap some photos of your "evidence" and be getting ready -- we are rounding up a sponsor and will have a linky party soon! (Along with our sponsored prize, Padsworth will be gifting a subscription to OleFrogEyes to our winner!)
You will be able to link to a blog post or to Flickr photos, so everyone can play!
Love,
It's time to show you the second potholder!
(Linking up today with the NEWFO party over at Catpatches....hoping that it's OK to finish a new project!!)
I like the way this one turned out . . . after I put the layers together on this one, I did a blanket stitch around the blue hexies on the top layer. I went all the way around and then after I clipped the threads, I cut away the batting and the backing fabric.
See the stitches on the edge? I quilted it differently than the other one:
This one has a "Moda" loop, too:
And here is the obligatory shot of the reverse, so y'all can critique my quilting. (Grin)
I like it! And I hope that the recipient will, too!
Hope if you make a hexie potholder, you will show us yours!
Love,
I decided to finish my (big) hexie potholders in two different ways . . . I wanted to see which way turned out the best, or was the easiest way to finish them.
I used two layers of batting and one of Insul-brite inside both potholders. That makes it kinda bulky for the hexie shape, but you don't want your fingers getting scorched, right? Right!
For the pink one, I put the whole pile of hexies and batting with right sides together against the backing, and stitched almost all the way around -- just left a little stretch open for turning. I also included a surprise in that sandwich -- have you gotten a luscious bundle of fabric goodness from Moda and kept that cute woven tie that was around it?
Have you wondered what you could use it for?
Lookie!
Voila! A hanging loop for the hexi-holder!
Once I turned it out and poked the corners out good, I did a very small meander all over.
Love how the yellow center puffs up now:
Thirties colors are so cheerful!
Here are a couple more pictures to show you the quilting:
And on the reverse:
I used some of my favorite Aurifil thread -- a collection called Simply Color by Vanessa Christenson . . . goes with the Moda fabrics she designed with the same name!
Free motion fun with Aurifil! I swear, it goes like a knife through butter! No snags, no tangles or breaks! Just pedal to the metal fun!
I'll show you the other hexi-holder soon!
Love,
I love history.
I love Charleston.
I love quilting.
Therefore, when in Charleston, I see things a little differently than others might. (Grin)
I had the opportunity recently to spend some time walking about on my own in the historic district of this wonderful city, and I found inspiration for quilting.
This (above) reminded me of some piecing that I have done, but these next photos are of things that really cranked my tractor . . . got me excited about some free motion quilting projects!
I know it's hard to see, but don't you think that this design would look wonderful in an area that could accommodate a circular motif?
How about this in one of those border areas? I think it might be a good alternative to those feathers that I can't seem to get the hang of! (Wink)
I thought these were cool ideas to fit some spaces in an original (read that quirky) way . . . I like doing things a little differently!
Two more ideas for spaces that can handle circles.
Those three are photos of some ironwork that just inspired me . . . if my machine had been handy, I'd have had the pedal to the metal!
Thanks for joining me for a walkabout in Charleston!
Love,
