Jan 02 16

Quilted Leftovers

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I have amassed quite a stack of “test blocks” that were generated by testing out embroidery and machine embroidery applique patterns as they were being developed.  When I was developing our feathered wreath embroidery designs, I had to test each design in at least 4 sizes, so I ended up with around 60-80 blocks of varying sizes.  This quilt was thrown together with a few of the larger wreaths and I used it to experiment with ruler work:
 
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The wreaths are all trapuntoed and they “pop” very nicely but I don’t know that the trapunto effect is as noticeable in these photos as it is in person:
 
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Once all the ruler work had been done in the “main body” of the quilt, I filled the space around the wreaths with the “fingertips design.”  That design is a pretty quick and easy filler design around circular structures.
 
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That border you see in the above shot was easier to do than it looks.  I started by creating “turret swags” using a turret ruler.  (I’ll post more about turret rulers in the weeks to come.  I need to make a video about how to use them first.)  Turret swags can be filled with all kinds of designs.  In this quilt, I just stitched mirror image feathers.  In this next shot, you can see that I’ve added some channels to create a variation of a piano key border that fills the area above the turret swags:
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And in this next shot, I’ve added straight feathers in the super-wide channels that frame the intersections of the turret swag bases:
 
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…and in this one, I’ve added a loose “figure of 8’s” design inside the 1/2 inch channels:
 
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I did something on this quilt that I’ve never done before…I made 2 opposing borders with the turret swags/modified piano key border and I did something completely different in the other pair of borders:
 
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This was easy straight line ruler work to create a series of channels of varying widths and then I went back in and added filler designs inside about half the channels.  Isn’t it interesting how this makes the quilting appear complex?  You can get a bit of a sense of the difference in the 2 border designs in this next shot:
 
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Notice the tiny wreath in the corner?…I got to use up 4 of my small test blocks there!  This has been a fun way to learn some new design strategies and it has had the added plus of eliminating a few of my mountain of test blocks.  The quilt itself is nothing to write home about but I like the way the quilting came out.
 
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Until next time…
 

8 Comments

  1. Peggy Says:

    Amazing as always!

  2. Diane Evans Says:

    I’d write home about it if I had created something so striking — beautiful work!

    Diane

  3. Linda E in AZ Says:

    Wow! You have been busy and create such beautiful quilting.

  4. Maria Gardner Says:

    Happy New Year, Patsy. What a lovely start of the year for me to drool over your gorgeous designs and perfect stitching. I bought the high quilting foot for my Bernina and it works like a charm. I’m having fun experimenting with it. Now to add to my stash of rulers, and away we go!

  5. Suzy Webster Says:

    Gorgeous-makes me want to go sit down at my machine and get to work!

  6. Elizabeth kuntz Says:

    I am in awe of your skill and beauty of your quilting. I can only hope to be half as good as you someday.

  7. Pauline Sawatsky Says:

    I love your work. Absolutely stunning!

  8. Debbie Wassenaar Says:

    What a great idea to combine your test stitch-outs into a quilt…. Just wish my stitch-outs looked like yours😀!