And More Plaid

 

I liked the spiral with the figure eight loops so much that I decided to repeat it in the dark green stars.

I used a bright gold cotton thread for a good contrast.

I machine quilted by hand guiding using my Juki sewing machine. 

More Plaid....

This was the second step in quilting the stars in my quilt.  I used the same colour thread and curved my way through the beige plaid squares in these blocks.

I changed to blue thread, and stitched hearts in the larger red triangles.

Then red thread repeated the curves in the small blue plaid squares.

I stitched a "square in a square" through the blue plaid rectangles in the full blocks, then petals in the blue plaid space in the connector blocks.

I hand guide-machine quilt, using a Juki machine set into my sewing table to make a smooth work surface.

More Plaid

 

After stitching the finished blocks together and pin-basting the quilt, I had to come up with a quilting plan.

I began by stitching in the ditch around all the star shapes.

Then I decided to quilt a spiral in the centre of the beige stars, with figure eight style loops extending into each point.  

I used a thread colour that matched the contrast in the plaid, matching the bobbin to the top thread.

As the backing of this quilt is large pieces of assorted plaids, I thought that the different thread colours would add another design element to the finished quilt.

In this type of quilt, I repeat the design in all matching parts.

BTW, I am quilting this on my Juki, by hand-guiding the quilt, without the use of a frame. 

A Plaid Quilt, Many Years in the Planning

Like many quilters, I have collected fabric over the years.  I discovered that I had quite a bit of plaid fabrics when I sorted my "stash" a couple of years ago.

As well as fabric, I am a collector of quilt patterns, in books, magazines and from the many wonderful sites on the Internet.  Unfortunately, I didn't keep good records as to which sites provided me some of the patterns.

I saved all the parts for a large "mystery" type quilt, and decided that it would make good use of a large number of the plaid cottons in my collection.  Before leaving for a winter in Florida, I cut all the pieces for this queen size quilt.  I stitched the blocks when we first arrived, then hung the blocks from some pants hangers, (the type with clips attached).  Recently, I had caught up on my other projects, and returned to the plaid quilt.

Since I wanted a country look, I selected some light tan muslin to be the background in all the blocks.  The beauty of this pattern is the open spaces for quilting that weaves its way between the blocks.  It also has no borders, so I used the muslin for the binding as well.

Very Little Quilting this week

Had company visiting this week and also watching the Olympics in Vancouver!  I really must get back to work......

Wicked1

Enjoyed the final installment on my Christmas present yesterday.

DH and I saw the matinee performance of "Wicked" at the Straz Center (formerly the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center) yesterday.

The two lead singers were awesome, and I enjoyed the unusual, quirky costumes. We had our favourite seats - front row of the balcony. I always take my small binoculars, so I can see the details on the costumes - always a love of mine.

Today things are back to normal - sewing, and my second order of thread just arrived from Superior Thread! Now I'll be able to play for many months before I have to worry about restocking my supply!