Feb 28 11
Free Motion Embroidering a Block and Some Beautiful Quilting!
This large block will be part of a sampler type of quilt but I haven’t completely decided about the other blocks yet. So, I figured the best way to move this project forward would be to whittle away at this block. Parts of it will be trapuntoed and parts will be free motion embroidered before the top is pieced together, so I began by adding a trapunto layer behind the heart:
I satin stitched the heart’s edging with a solid rayon thread, then used Bottom Line Thread to stitch just inside the perimeter of the feathers:
I did an irregular swirl background fill design to finish off the rest of the heart and then I moved to the short one-sided feathers that splay open at the base of the heart. Those seemed kind of ho-hum to me, so I decided to finish off the edges with the EKG edge finishing design and I picked a bright turquoise rayon thread since it would be pretty “showy:”
Here’s what the back of the project looks like:
Then I moved up to those birds near the top. I did the EKG edge finishing but I used a thread that wasn’t too contrasty…I wanted to save the big bang for the wings! I stitched the plumes inside the internal wings with solid gold rayon thread and I really like how it came out:
…and then my heart skipped a beat. I realized that I’d intended to place a lightweight trapunto layer behind the birds but I forgot to do that before I did all that embroidery. Drat! I went back in and added that lightweight batting using invisible thread in my top needle. Thank goodness there is almost always a way to salvage a mistake like that!
And now, I want to show you some photos of really incredible quilting that were sent to me by Lisa Burmann of Burmann Studios. Just look at these photos of a quilt she’s working on:
This next one is my favorite…look at the beautiful way she has handled the corners. Your eye is just drawn to follow all the luscious curves of those feathers:
Notice how her dense quilting sets off the swags and gives them almost a trapunto-like effect:
and last but not least, a shot of the backside:
Lisa is a longarm quilter who obviously does a fantastic job! To check out more of her work, visit her web site here. Take the time to scroll through her different galleries; there are all kinds of quilts but they all are beautifully quilted!
W-O-W!!
They are very happy birds! Love how this is moving on.
That quilting is spectacular isn’t it?
Lovely!!
Jealous!!! and Drooling!!!
I just love the brights you work with. (Noticing the bugs on the background print..Ewww)
Lisa Burman’s quilting is gorgeous!! I could only dream of doing such beautiful work!!!
Patsy,
Your bird applique quilt is more than lovely, it is simply awesome. I am drooling here! 🙂
Love the way this is progressing. You have an interesting choice of fabric for the background – not sure how the bugs relate to the motifs on the quilt???
I love the bird applique. Just draws my eye in. Beautiful free motion embroidery & quilting too. Stunning quilt.
SewCalGal
http://www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
We are in Awe of what you achieve. Fantastic work we love to share your work – your applique and free motion quilting are an inspiration!