I have had the house to myself today (a rare occurrence) becuase Dennis is off in Northern Ireland buying my rather spohisticated nephew Starbucks Caramel Cream Frappachinos. I would say that when I was a child a simple milkshake was a major treat but I won't becuase it makes me sound old and I'm not really! Anyway it gave me a chance for a good old quilt and this is a photo of the king-sized quilt top I started on Thursday evening did a bit on yesterday after work and finished at 6pm today. Secret - BIG blocks (15") and no templates or pattern - just a pile of FQ's (Almost all Bali Batiks bought very cheaply earlier this year from the Fat Quarter Shop) and lots of freestyle rotary cutting. I suspect the quilting will not be so quick!
I had two cases in the Southport County Court yesterday and so took the opportunity to spend lunchtime at Crafts and Quilts which is only a couple of miles away from the court. It is really my local quilt shop ( ish - its 45 mins away) but I haven't been before because its 45 mins in a direction I never drive and I am up in Penrith at Just Sew frequently anyway for classes (1.5 hrs away). However, I find it has a good stock of fabrics. Not so good on threads - I was unable to get a netural coloured Guterman thread for piecing because the rack was half stocked ( perhaps just the time of year with hordes of panicked quilters stocking up there instead of Tesco's supermarket?) but I did get these great African style fabrics plus some others to make a pieced back for the bed quilt. ( the blues are much stronger than on these photos).
Or should I just get one backing fabric for the first quilt and make a fresh one with these?! What is the view of you lot out there - are reversible quilts a good idea or not? I appreciate that if you are quilting in specific areas of the quilt it would be a nightmare to match front and back but if we are doing free motion all over quilting - why are most quilts I've seen not reversible? Views please.
Anyway - I was impressed with the shop - I got a free cup of tea as I browsed and some chocolate caramels. Then when I expressed frustration that I'd arrived a day too early for the sale I got 1o% off anyway ( after I wheedled a bit!) and a free bunch of bananas. I missed what the guy said when he was explaining why he had bananas in the first place so I'm a bit puzzled by that but was grateful for them!
Tomorrow we go to stay with my parents in Penrith for Christmas so I am going to take a blog break for a little while. I hope everyone reading this has/ has had a great holiday.
2 comments:
I love those african fabrics. Wonderful patterns on those. Good question on why more quilts aren't reversible especially if they are just free motion quilted.
These fabrics are stunning - I am particularly drawn to the last two. Can you tell me the name of the range and designer?
When you say reversible, do you mean pieced designs on both sides of the quilt? Kind of like a reversible jacket I guess? I think I'd rather use a really strong allover patterned piece of fabric on the back and then use it as the basis for an allover quilting design. Would look stunning!
Post a Comment