Bizarre Quilter: Fabric, patterns, techniques in abundance!

Tuesday, 16 May 2017

Fabric, patterns, techniques in abundance!

My brain is about to spill over the brim! So much creative love is inside, and bubbling away.

I've been hand stitching down all the pieces shown on the previous Secret Garden post, and haven't prepared any extra pieces to show. Just a few leaves left to stitch down. Then more to turn the seam under.

Yesterday is the day I've been waiting for! The fifth installment in Esther's free BOM pattern for Diamond Hill was released. Yesterday I bought some extra fabric, and today I have been drooling over exact colour placements for piecing the next parts. There will be some paper foundation piecing, some English paper piecing, and some applique!! Lots and lots to do.

English paper piecing printed onto heavy card

I think I've decided to do the diamonds in a couple of shades of pearly creams and golds (the colour themes for my version of the quilt are Amethyst, Emerald and now Pearl), keeping the background the same dark purple.

Four corners in English paper piecing

The baskets will be one large piece of fabric. I haven't quite decided on which fabric yet. Perhaps the shop tomorrow will have something to inspire me. In any case, I have plenty to go on with (all those twinkly diamond bits!) until I absolutely need to decide.

22 pages of instructions!!

I've had the pieces printed out at Officeworks. The foundation piecing parts printed onto a lighter weight fabric to make it easier to tear away (I wonder if I will wet the paper first too... that might be less damaging on the stitching). I don't usually stitch through paper, but trace onto a prewashed, preironed, preshrunk vilene and leave it in. But this is an experimental project, and I am keen to try something different.

44 pages printed with these diamonds on lighter paper as a foundation

Tomorrow at Sewcial group I plan to start the foundation piecing by machine. I think all the sewing machine work will be done in my weekly sessions at the LQS (young man is just too interested in everything these days). I wonder how many times it will take to finish all the twinkly pieces.

My head is full of things to remember to take: Crisp spray starch, sewing machine, extra needles, oil, ruler bag, fabrics, printed patterns, the blocks... actually, this list is helping to empty my head a little bit.

And also in the last few days I have been absolutely awestruck by these gorgeous fabrics coming out by Tokyo Milk "Neptune and the Mermaids". I will absolutely NEED to get some.