Clients hand over their precious quilts, trusting they will come back beautifully finished.
Sure, the quilt is discussed when it's dropped off, but in the end it's truly a leap of faith.
Wedding Quilt
Messages, a gorgeous photo, and a huge emotional investment made this wedding quilt absolutely irreplaceable. Not gonna lie . . . that adds a wee bit of pressure!One challenge was to avoid quilting over the messages while adding enough quilting to hold the seams. The idea of double-bump, continuous curves appealed to my client AND met the challenge. Sometimes simple is best.
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| Chalk marks the spot where the bumps need to meet. FreshofftheFrame.com |
My client requested hearts. I had a couple of initial ideas, but nothing felt quite right.
I needed to sit with it for a while until the right idea came along. As I was doodling for something completely unrelated, the perfect idea popped into my head!
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| Quilted hearts merge with feathers, but are difficult to see. FreshofftheFrame.com |
I loved how they quilted out, but the hearts didn't really show.
I decided to change threads and use something a bit bolder . . . but they still didn't show.
Enter, TRUST.
My client gave me permission to PAINT her precious, IRREPLACEABLE quilt!!!
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| Painting the quilt! FreshofftheFrame.com |
Strangely, I wasn't nervous at all. This felt so right.
First I folded the quilt to cover the photo - just in case! A plastic table cloth under my fancy paint palette (margarine lid) protected the rest of the quilt.
I mixed fabric medium into an acrylic metallic paint and applied it with a small, stiff paintbrush. After it dried overnight, I set it with heat to make it permanent.
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| Isn't that the most gorgeous photo of the happy couple? FreshofftheFrame.com |
It was the perfect solution - I'm so glad the risk paid off!!!
I love how the continuous curves look from the back. (Actually, I love all of the texture from the back!)
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| Yummy texture shows on the back! FreshofftheFrame.com |
I never did get a shot of the whole quilt . . . in case you are wondering, the outside border is filled with feathers to match the ones surrounding the photo.
OH, and I ran across this gem while I was quilting. It may just be the best advice, ever!!!
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| Always fight naked! FreshofftheFrame.com |
Speaking of texture . . . here is my paper-pieced leaf after quilting!
Several people have asked for the pattern information. This is the Tea Time Placemat pattern, by Quiltworx.com
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| Quilted leaf FreshofftheFrame.com |
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| FreshofftheFrame.com |
This sweet quilt is also Fresh off the Frame!
It laid so flat and straight, it was a dream to quilt.
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| FreshofftheFrame.com |
Well, except for this freakin' nightmare at the beginning!!!
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| AUGH!!! Bobbin issue... FreshofftheFrame.com |
I'd cleaned my machine, but didn't wipe out the bobbin casing well enough. Extra lube caused tension issues. Grrrr...!
Luckily I didn't get far before noticing, so there wasn't too much
Drum roll, please . . .
These cushion covers (and pot holders) are finished! They look totally amazing now that they are bound. |
| Gorgeous! FreshofftheFrame.com |
I took a ton of pictures - NONE of which turned out!
I'm embarrassed to admit that I could NOT, for the life of me, figure out the problem! It finally twigged that the lens on my phone/camera was smudged.
Colour returned to my world and I grabbed two quick shots before these babies went to their new home.
Just LOOK at the difference!
Here is a shot with the smudgy lens.
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| Not so gorgeous :-( It helps to clean the lens...just sayin! FreshofftheFrame.com |
Should have been obvious, but I kept thinking it was the lighting!
Ha! Well, now that you know exactly how I roll, what was I saying about trust???
Would you like paint with that?
Linking up with:
Linky Tuesday, at Freemotion by the River
Fabric Tuesday, at Quilt Story
Try, Learn, Grow!
Carole
P.S. I'm now on Instagram under my blog name, FreshofftheFrame - come find me so I can find you, too!
SO glad you took that leap and painted those hearts!! It is indeed perfection!!! What a beautiful wedding quilt, you did an amazing job of putting the icing on it ;)
ReplyDeleteThe hearts look terrific. You gotta go where inspiration leads.
ReplyDeleteI love the leaf and the string covers as well.
Those hearts are just awesome! Great finishes all around.
ReplyDeleteSo much gorgeousness that I hardly know what to say. The painted heart is awesome. The double arc is really neat. Your paper piecing is so neat. And I get smudges all the time n my lens. I have to keep my lens cleaner handy.
ReplyDeleteThe wedding quilt is amazingly gorgeous, and the touch of paint to the top was the perfect solution. I love how the hearts now pop out and sing. I am right there with you on the dirty lens being one of the hardest problems to figure out. :)
ReplyDeleteI love everything you showed in this post - but am commenting specifically on the wedding quilt. I love, love, LOVE what you did with it. Your quilting took a beautiful top, and elevated to a whole new level. The fabric painting in the quilted hearts is just genius. I think this quilt will be cherished for generations...absolutely beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteOh, Carole ~ you are right! The paint was the perfect touch!! The quilt turned out beautifully! I love your curvy borders on the patchwork. Always fight naked, huh? Yikes! (that must've been suggested by someone whose body parts have not yet been rearranged by gravity ;-)
ReplyDeleteYour leaf is super - a table full of them would look pretty stunning....
Curious about the quilt that laid so flat ~ did she use starch when piecing? how did she press her seams? what did she do extra / special / differently than those that don't lay so flat? I mean, besides careful cutting and sewing...
(I often think a smudged lens is my problem. If I only I were so lucky.... I'm just not a good photographer. yet.....)
Yay for being productive!!
The hearts are perfect! And the leaf - gorgeous. So much fun!
ReplyDeleteThat wedding quilt is stunning! Your painted hearts were just what it needed. Great work.
ReplyDeleteThe wedding quilt with all those signatures was a very tricky quilt to quilt and you did an amazing job with it Carole! What a great idea to paint the hearts! Your client must be incredibly happy with how it turned out.
ReplyDeleteThe leaf placemat is amazing!
I'm going to remember to check my lens for smudges... but mostly it is lighting issues for me.
The painted hearts were the perfect addition to the quilt and your quilting added exactly what this heirloom needed to make it timeless and beautiful. You'e been very productive.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful work. LOVE the idea of painting the hearts - it's perfect! Your leaf is gorgeous, your lens is clean, what else could a gal want?
ReplyDeleteThe painting really adds the perfect touch to the quilt! Love the quilting you did on the Quilted Leaf too!
ReplyDelete:)) anyway your work is so incredible! I love your perfect quilting and I love the leaf you created!
ReplyDeleteThe paint just made this so much more special, Carole. Great move! This is such an incredible quilt!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all your smudgey lens made me laugh! My kids frequently have the camera, the lens is forever getting greasy fingerprints on it and yet I always forget to wipe it! The wedding quilt turned out beautifully, your client must have great trust in you and clearly not misplaced - can't believe you managed not to be scared though! And as well as the amazing section around the photo, your bumps work so effectively, I must remember those because I could almost do those not so well myself!
ReplyDelete