Today’s Sewing Fun

I’ve been playing around with some basic leaf shapes with embroidered details, kind of like a basic leaf “sampler.”  I’m on the 2nd round of stitch-outs for them.  These are the first 6 out of 15 total:

This next one is my favorite of this group:

This next one is my LEAST favorite, although I think it would look better if I hadn’t outlined it with such a high contrast thread:

This next one is another fav…I think it’s because I really like the edge-finishing stitched design:

Just 2 more:

Once I get the rest of the 15 leaves done, my plan is to stitch these out using wool for my applique shapes.  Think of the textures!

Filed under Machine Embroidered Applique. 2 Comments

Another “Kissed by a Butterfly” Quilt

The photo above is of the original “Kissed by a Butterfly” quilt.  I love how it came out and I think a big part of what makes the quilt nice is the striking colors of the hand dyed fabric in the center block.  Shortly after I made it, I started a second version of the same quilt, but it’s made in commercial fabrics with more “pastel-ish” colors.  I am not a fan of pastels, so working on this quilt became quite a chore.  I pieced the top except for that last border and then set it aside.  It sat, waiting to be completed, for several months, and I finally picked it up again last month.  Here is a shot of it on my basing wall:

I like the embroidered details on the butterfly applique shapes, but that’s kind of the end of what I like about the quilt top:

I started quilting this center block.  I began by adding a ruler work framework along the seam line.  In this shot, the first row of the framework is in and I’ve filled in 4 of the spaces underneath the framework:

…and in this next shot, the remaining spaces have also been filled in with a featherette inside each:

I added a circular ruler work framework  that rotates around the center applique wreath, then filled each triangle with a small featherette.  This left a small adjacent space that I filled with a different featherette.  I used 2 different thread colors to differentiate them better:

This close-up shot is a better illustration of what I was trying to do:

Then I got bored and moved to a different part of the quilt!  More on this later…

Filed under Free Motion Quilting, George Sitdown Quilting Machine, Machine Embroidered Applique. Comments Off on Another “Kissed by a Butterfly” Quilt