Sep 17 15

Loose Ends and a Give Away

My life got so hectic in the last couple of months that I’m ashamed to say that I left many loose ends dangling in the wake of “hurricane Patsy’s summer.”  Do you remember when I posted a photo of Gary Harvey’s beautiful circle of featherettes that he quickly stitched up during a quickie 3-hour class?  The photo below will hopefully jog your memory-isn’t his work fantastic?!

 

  Gary-Harvey's-Block-with-Featherettes

What he did here was to create temporary markings of triangles that rotated around a circle and then he went in and filled them with a basic featherette.  At my request, he sent me 2 photos of his completed project.  (I think he sent them to me, like the very next day!  This guy not only quilts beautifully, but he quilts really fast!)  Anyway, this next shot is of his 18 inch quilted block before he’s sewn it into a pillow sham.  I lightened it up a little so you could see all the details of his thread work:

 

gary0.5

Isn’t it stunning?!  What he’s done in this 2nd round of stitching is to create a 2nd temporary circle that surrounds the original circle of featherettes.  He then filled in the “empty spaces” within the 2nd circle with another set of featherettes that are oriented in the opposite direction.  Look even more closely and you’ll see that he’s done 2 hyperquilting designs, one inside each circle of featherettes, and then he’s surrounded the entire design with the “plumify it” background fill design.  Here’s a shot of his final project, after it’s been sewn into a pillow sham:

 

Gary-2

What a great job he did!  Here’s a little tip for when you’re adding “layers” of featherettes onto a frame but you’re trying to create a cohesive design that “reads” as one design.  Even though the circle itself is never stitched, we “see” these designs as a unified whole because of simple outlining.  Here’s another example of what I’m talking about:

maroon-snowflake-wreath

Just like in Gary’s block, the featherettes actually just “float” because there is no stitched structure that actually supports them.  If you look closely, there are 2 lines of echo quilting that surround the entire “snowflake wreath.”  Who would have thought that some narrow lines of stitching could have such power to pull a complex design together?!

 

I can’t say anything yet, but I’m hoping to have some very exciting news in about a week…what could it be?! I’m happily offering up a free special gift to whoever guesses the right answer but you have to post a comment to this blog post to enter and your comment must be in before I make the announcement next week.  If you want to cover your bases, make multiple guesses of different announcements but make sure you do it as separate comments to be counted!  (I can’t tell you what the gift is or I’d give away the announcement, but know that it’s a nice gift and I’ll pay shipping, wherever you live in the world!)

***Note:  This give-away is officially closed as of 8:00 PM EDST on Sat 9/26/15***

71 Comments

  1. Pat Converse Says:

    A new Craftsy class would be fantastic!

  2. Pat Converse Says:

    Maybe you created some new rulers for the ruler work.

  3. Marilyn Says:

    wow i wish icould do this.so fantastic

  4. Patty Says:

    A new Craftsy class is my guess

  5. Marylyn J Says:

    Ooh! Ooh!
    Hoping for collaboration on a new book!!

  6. Barb Lounsbury Says:

    You’re going to be selling rulers for quilters!!

  7. Maureen Says:

    2nd try – Craftsy class with the specific rulers in your 9/22 post

  8. Barbara Says:

    A new set of ruler tempkates

  9. Peggy Says:

    I am guessing a new Craftsy class.

  10. Peggy Says:

    a book?

  11. Peggy Says:

    a new DVD

  12. Wilma Says:

    Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, time and talents with us. I love the use of all the coloured threads. It really shows off the various layers.

  13. Laurie Says:

    I’m guessing a Craftsy class

  14. Nadine Vining Says:

    My guess is a ruler. At least that’s what I want!

  15. Barbara McNayghton Says:

    I’m guessing your own set of rulers. Ernie is so handy!

  16. Barbara McNayghton Says:

    My guess is your own set of rulers

  17. Christy Reysen Says:

    I really hope its another Craftsy class

  18. Jean Says:

    I think you will be coming out with your own set of rulers for machine quilting. Whatever it is, I hope it goes well! Your quilts are gorgeous!

  19. Melissa Says:

    You are teaching at MQX New Hampshire in April 2016?

  20. Niki Vick Says:

    I’m betting you won Best of Show at the Asheville Quilt show

  21. Sue in MN Says:

    I bet your first Craftsy class was so successful they invited you back!!!