Yesterday I finally got brave and worked the designs in the feature blocks of "Irish Lass".
Two different designs are used in a total of sixteen blocks. Both designs are surrounded by pebbling.
Completing each block was taking way too long....I wanted to see progress by the end of the day, so I decided to do the scary (for me) part first...the outlines...and come back for the pebbling.
By the time I reached the last row, I'd become more accurate and my lines were much smoother.
I had "eyeballed" the echos and swirls in the first two flowers (shown below), but wasn't 100% happy with the result. After that I started marking everything so I would know exactly where to go.
The light was not good for photos by the end of the day, so no more for now.
End result? Six of sixteen blocks complete. Only 8 more hours of pebbling and I'll be done!!!!!!
Whoop Whoop!
Last night our Modern group met and started working on scrappy slabs inspired by Cheryl Arkison's technique in Sunday Morning Quilts.
This was fast and fun! (and I really needed that after a day of quilting tiny pebbles)
We took piles of scraps, sewed things together, squared as we went, and aimed for (roughly) 15 inch blocks. Each of us will use our own blocks, so will square to our own desired dimensions.
Off to finish Irish Lass...See you in about 8 hours!
Irish Lass is one of my 2014 Library Project Quilt Along choices. If you'd like to see more about this quilt, click the label "Irish Lass" in my sidebar. Posts with that tag will appear in reverse order (most recent posts at the top).
There's also a label for the 2014 Library Project if you'd like to see what else I've been up to in that department.
Linking up with:
I Quilt Thursdays, at Pretty Bobbins
Whoop Whoop Fridays, at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Fabric Frenzy Friday, at Fort Worth Fabric Studio
The Library Project Quilt Along April Check in, at Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Show off Saturday, at Sew Can She
Try, Learn, Grow!
Carole
Comments are welcome. Thanks so much for looking around!
Two different designs are used in a total of sixteen blocks. Both designs are surrounded by pebbling.
 |
| It took 45 minutes to pebble around this swirly design. The pebbling is microscopic...I may need new eyeballs by the time I'm done! |
Completing each block was taking way too long....I wanted to see progress by the end of the day, so I decided to do the scary (for me) part first...the outlines...and come back for the pebbling.
By the time I reached the last row, I'd become more accurate and my lines were much smoother.
 |
| It helped to actually mark the echo line and swirls, and not just wing it. |
 |
| First two flowers. Okay, but I knew I could do better! |
The light was not good for photos by the end of the day, so no more for now.
End result? Six of sixteen blocks complete. Only 8 more hours of pebbling and I'll be done!!!!!!
Whoop Whoop!
Last night our Modern group met and started working on scrappy slabs inspired by Cheryl Arkison's technique in Sunday Morning Quilts.
 |
| Our WIPs Don't they look great together? |
We took piles of scraps, sewed things together, squared as we went, and aimed for (roughly) 15 inch blocks. Each of us will use our own blocks, so will square to our own desired dimensions.
Off to finish Irish Lass...See you in about 8 hours!
 |
| My companion today. |
There's also a label for the 2014 Library Project if you'd like to see what else I've been up to in that department.
Linking up with:
I Quilt Thursdays, at Pretty Bobbins
Whoop Whoop Fridays, at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Fabric Frenzy Friday, at Fort Worth Fabric Studio
The Library Project Quilt Along April Check in, at Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Show off Saturday, at Sew Can She
Try, Learn, Grow!
Carole
Comments are welcome. Thanks so much for looking around!
Your quilting is looking great, looking forward to seeing the finished article.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Frances. I finished the quilting today - yay!!! *happy dance*
DeleteThis is coming along very nicely! Your quilting looks great! I recently did some micro pebbling. . . a 4 inch square. . . I'm not a fan of doing it LOL BUT I just LOVE the look! Yours looks great :) Just love seeing the progress you are making with this quilt!
ReplyDeleteI soooo agree. Not a fan of doing hours and hours (and hours) of pebbling, but there's nothing like the look of it. Sure glad that's done! Thanks for your kind comment! It has been fun to learn on this quilt. It really has improved my skills to do so much repetition and practice.
DeleteLove your work, Carole! I have a new longarm arriving very soon and I'm scouring posts online for tips and ideas. Can I ask what type of marking pen you use? I'm always antsy about drawing on my quilts, but I can see that now with a longarm it will be a very valuable tool.. Also, glad I saw this on the FWFS linky - reminded me I need to get my Library QAL written asap : )
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah. Congrats on your new longarm...how exciting for you!!! I used a washable blue marker by Clover (I think) on this quilt. I may need to immerse the quilt in water to remove the markings if they don't spritz away. Sometimes the ink sinks into the batting and it reappears the next day. Since it is my own quilt, that's not an issue. Judi Madsen recommends the purple "air soluble" pens for customer quilts. They are also water soluble so can be spritzed away, but wouldn't need immersion since they are made to disappear with air exposure. Naturally, with these you only mark a few steps ahead or your markings might be gone by the time you get to them! Good luck with your new tool! If there's anything I can help with, give me a shout.
DeleteBEAUTIFUL !
ReplyDeletemsstitcher1214@gmail.com
Thank you! It has been a fun project.
DeleteHello from a new follower! Your work is LOVE.LY!
ReplyDelete(You can visit me @ LoriEast.com)
Thank you, Lori, that means a lot to me. I did visit you, and am humbled to think you might want to look at my work, and thrilled that you think it's lovely. :-)
DeleteYou're quilting looks fantastic!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristin...it's been a labour of love!
DeleteCarole, your quilting is absolutely stunning! I have featured you over at the Fort Worth Fabric Studio blog! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter!
-Lindsey
http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.com/2014/04/fabric-frenzy-friday-features_19.html
Wow, thanks Lindsey! What a wonderful surprise! Happy Easter to you, too. :-)
DeleteThis is looking really nice Carole. I am glad to be following your progress, and to see how you are quilting. I have my eye on a long arm too, like one of your other readers, but I am waiting to get some other debts paid off before I dive into the expense of it. I think I will learn a lot from you though before I take the plunge. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jan-Michael. I can't wait to see what you do with a long arm! Your creativity will be unleashed! The first advice I will offer is to buy the best system you can afford. I started out with a less expensive set up, and the machine was great, but the encoders were crap and the frame was a nightmare to work with. I've quilted more quilts in one year on my Freedom than I did in the three years I had my previous system.
DeleteIrish Lass is just amazing! I love your quilting, pebbles are my fave! I want to try those slab blocks too, glad I recently picked up that book to add to the Library :) Thanks fro linking up at TLP!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Adrienne. Quilting Irish Lass has been a fantastic skill builder. Without The Library Project I may not have jumped in and done it. It's easy to procrastinate when there isn't a deadline, so TLP was just the shove I needed. Thanks for coming up with the challenge! Enjoy your new books!!!
DeleteOh, the slab blocks are such fun to make, I'm sure you will enjoy them, too.
I adore Irish Lass. It was a lovely quilt before you started quilting.....it's quickly becoming exquisite.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jo! It is such a happy quilt for me...a great experience all the way through.
DeleteLooking great! Just love the quilting :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm a lover of texture, so this is right up my alley, too!
DeleteWow your quilting looks fantastic! I'm only beginning in FMQ on my home machine and this is inspiring!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It wasn't that long ago that I was a beginner at FMQ, too! I started piecing in 2007, I think. My quilting was all done with my walking foot (or by a longarmer - I wouldn't do larger than a twin on my domestic) until I took the leap into FMQ on my domestic machine in 2009...and haven't looked back! Just keep going, Ruth!
DeleteGorgeous quilting!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I see you are also a long arm quilter with an addiction to texture! :-)
Delete