Irish Blue

I thought I would squeeze a quick post in before the month of May is over!  I've been sidetracked this month, working on some old needlework projects and framing some pieces that have been sitting around for years in the closet, so I only managed to get one quilt finished, but I thought I'd do a little show and tell anyway.

I finished quilting this quilt earlier this month and thought you all would like to see more cables done with a walking foot.  This is a triple Irish Chain quilt I did a few years back in blue and white as a class sample for a workshop I taught.  I waited to quilt it until recently, it's been one of several in a stack needing to be quilted.  This quilt was also a tester for a border cable I've been wanting to try as well as a feathered wreath in the alternating white blocks.

I know it may be somewhat difficult to see the quilting in some of these pics, once again, a photographer I am not!  But I did try shining a lamp off to the side so the quilting would show a little more.  There is also a small cable in the inner white border.  The straight lines and all the cable quilting were done with a walking foot.

Don't you love this cable?  I had seen a similar one on an antique quilt long ago and then came across a drawing of it in a very old quilt magazine.  I photocopied it, enlarging it many times, and then reworked it to figure out the repeats so that it would fit on my border.  The inner cable is from a stencil I have, perfect for a narrow space.

This was another experiment, trying free-motioned feather wreaths.  I will admit, I am not a big free-motion quilter, although I have done some.  I love the look, but don't really enjoy doing it, mainly because I wind up with such a sore neck and back, I feel like I've been in a car accident!  And I do try very hard not to tense up, but it still requires a great amount of physical and mental energy, no matter how much I try to relax.  But that being said, I am thrilled with the results.

Here you can see how the border wraps the corner of the quilt, a bit different than many that you see.  And if you look closely at the inner white border, I just ran it into the seamline and didn't bother wrapping the corner on that one.  So it works either way, it's really a matter of taste and how much extra work you want to put into it.

And a quick note here, this quilt is really VERY white, but once again, due to lighting and amateur photography, you are seeing a dirty beige!  I'm sorry, but I figured in this case, you really needed to see the quilting more than all that whiteness.

For those of you that are curious, the batting I used is Hobb's 80/20, whoops, my mistake, it is Mountain Mist 100% cotton.  Normally I use Hobb's 80/20, but I wanted to try this one out for a change.  And I loved it, it's very thin and drapes well, very similar to an antique quilt.  The top thread I quilt with is Wonderfil's Invisafil, my absolute favorite thread for quilting.  It is very fine, similar to silk at 100 wt., but is a very soft polyester and very strong.  It sinks into the fabric, so you see the indentation, not the thread, and it works extremely well for scrappy quilts when you have a wide array of colors and prints, blending in almost perfectly on most colors.  I have used it now exclusively for many years and absolutely love it.  And in the bobbin I used Wonderfil's Konfetti 50 wt. Egyptian cotton, a very nice, low-lint cotton thread.

And finally, I want to put out a HUGE thank you and GIANT group hug to all of you that have commented or e-mailed me on the tutorial I posted on quilting cables with a walking foot!!!  I am BLOWN AWAY at the response I received, I truly had no idea it would reach so many of you!  It makes me happier than words can say to hear from you.  And to know there are like-minded women out there that feel the same way I do about traditional style quilting is just so reassuring to know that I am not alone in how I feel!  Let me just say that when I started this blog, it was a bit nerve wracking writing to "air" and not thinking that anyone would read or care what I had to say.  So I just have to let you all know that bloggers DO want your comments, especially me!  And I hope that all of you that took the time to write received my replies because I did respond to everyone.  If you aren't getting a response from me, please let me know!  I am still trying to figure this all out and sometimes it's by the seat of my pants.

Hope you continue to be inspired!  Until next time. . . .Happy Quilting!!!