Marlene's Quilt

 

Okay, finally some pictures of this super cute quilt. I have quilted for Marlene before - here and here, so third quilt for her and I had so much fun with this quilt. It was the first time I used my new curved rulers - I love how fun it was using a new tool that gives me more options as far as the quilting is concerned. So, before I go on about the quilting, here are the quilt facts in Marlene's own words:

The pattern is Down in the Garden by Leanne Beasley of Australia. I like to make changes to patterns so I added the wool in place of some embroidery and changed some of the flowers. The fabric line I used was Wild Rose by Blackbird Designs.

I used two layers of batting, one layer was Hobbs 100% cotton and the other layer was Hobbs 80/20 - I like the combo, it works well and showcases the quilting better.  I also tried Glide thread for the first time, it worked incredibly well - both bobbin and top thread.

So anyway, check out these little beauties!  It was a little tricky maneuvering the curved ruler to get these arches, but I figured it out eventually.  The rulers I used were recommended to me by Jenny, I bought the arc sets, size 12-23" from Renae.  The ruler I used in this quilt was the 12-13" arc. I do like the rulers and I am sure I will be incorporating more of these into my quilts.  

Isn't it fun how these corners look a little like an owl face?  Can you see it?  I can........

The inside design of the curves is my design and I have it available as a pdf file here.  I am working on getting downloadable pdf files, but for now I will have to email them to you.  This design will include two ways to use this design.  

The inside borders took some time, I had to mark the 1/2 inch diagonals from each side of the quilt and then quilt them, my straight edge ruler helps with accuracy and the squiggle lines in between give them a fun dimension.  

This quilt really was a joy to work on because it is a sampler and I can just have fun with the quilting.  Everything is free motion quilting and I love that I got up close and personal to the embroidery, which was done beautifully Marlene! 

Close up, I just love the way the thread sparkles in the sunshine.  

It was fun taking some of the blocks and just quilting around the design of the fabric.  The flower here looks so much better showcasing it rather than covering it up with some random quilting design.  

It really was just fun, it was time intensive - but fun.  

I have a new goal and that is to try and stipple really small - and well - I have some practicing to do.  

The back of this quilt tells it's own story, that's for sure.  I love that Marlene sent muslin for the backing.  I always love to show off the quilting and this quilt turned out incredible as a double sided quilt.  

Owl face again, do you see it now?  

I am proud of how the stitches look on the back - the tension is always so important and I love seeing the thread on the back of my quilts.  

 I had a hard time narrowing down the pictures for this post, so I have a ton more pictures on my flickr page.  Just click on one of the pictures and you can see all the pictures that I couldn't include.  

Reality is back and in full swing, thanks for all the sweet comments on my last post.  Clint and I now have a code word for when it gets a little stressful (kids screaming) around this house - we just look at each other and say "Maui."