Friday, July 16, 2010

Home & Finished Wholecloth called "Envy"

We have returned from our trip to Europe and have had a fabulous time.  It is great to be home again and we are settling back into our usual routine.  I have started quilting again, however, at this stage I would like to share a quilt I finished just before we went overseas.

In April this year I took part in the online Wholecloth Design and Execution Course through MQ Resource.  I have previously blogged the design stage of my quilt which can be seen here.

Having completed my customer quilts before travelling overseas, I took some time to mark and quilt my wholecloth quilt.  I wanted a quilt which wasn't going to blend into my walls at home and therefore chose a bright green shot cotton by Kaffe Fassett.

The marking stage proved a huge task - each motif had to be traced in blue marker on to the quilt top.  I was excited to learn, however, that I would not need to buy a light box.  A trip to our local hardware store for the purchase of a sheet of perspex and, together with some kitchen chairs and a desk lamp, I was set.




Having marked the quilt I wasn't going to quilt it straight away.  However, I found that after a few weeks the blue lines were starting to fade.  I didn't want the time I had spent marking to have been wasted so onto the frame the quilt went.

I used 2 layers of wadding - 1 layer of Nu-wool wadding which is a mix of 60% wool and 40% poly and 1 layer of Matilda's Own 100% Cotton.  The thread I used was Aurifil 50wt which quilted beautifully - it has a lovely sheen to it.

Initially I quilted all the motifs which didn't prove as difficult as I had anticipated.  Having quilted all the motifs I removed the quilt and removed the blue marker pen with water.




The quilt then went back on to complete the border with cross-hatching, curved cross-hatching in the centre of the motifs, pebbles in the spines and lots of pebbles for the background quilting.  I think I found the back-ground quilting the hardest part - pebbles do take a lot of time to quilt but I do love the end result.


Here are some close-ups of some of the motifs:-





I am thrilled with the end result of my little "Envy" Wholecloth Quilt - the course was wonderful, I learned a lot and enjoyed the process.  Perhaps there is a larger wholecloth quilt in me yet...

44 comments:

  1. I am blown away by your wholecloth quilt! Love the design and the color of the fabric. The pebbles were well worth the effort and I am glad to see how well pebbles work as background with a formal design like this. If you do not mind, please share the other details such as type of batting and thread used. Congratulations on a job well done.

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  2. that is absolutely wonderful. I love the colour, the cross-hatching and the pebbling; it all looks fantastic together. Congratulations. Also the "light box" is a great idea

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  3. Hello Joyce,
    Thanks for your lovely comment - I have just amended my post to include details of wadding and thread.
    Cheers,
    Karen

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  4. You are the queen of free motion quilting! No doubt about it. It is amazing!!!

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  5. Wow and Wow...Spectacular. I am green with envy!

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  6. GORGEOUS! Your whole cloth quilting is breathtaking!

    hugz,
    Pam

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  7. Stunning, it's just fabulous.

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  8. It's unbelieveably beautiful. Love the green too.
    (look forward to meeting you Wednesday with more green!)

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  9. Gorgeous, fabulous, amazing. I can't come up with enough words to describe how beautiful it is. I too am green with envy. I hope that one day I can do something like this too. You are amazingly talented.

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  10. What a star, your quilting if absolutely fabulous.Looks fantastic Karen

    Mandy

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  11. I've never seen anything so beautiful before in my life. I called my husband to look at what 'this blogger' has created (he's not into quilting). We were stunned by its beauty and your talent.

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  12. Welcome back Karen.
    What a first post!!
    An absolutely stunning quilt.
    I am completely blown away.
    I hope you plan to enter it in lots of quilt shows.
    I'd give you first prize in a heart beat!!!!
    ANdi x

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  13. Beautiful work Karen - I can see a blue ribbon here! I'm glad you enjoyed your trip! I'm just back from Paris and had a great time too! Have started blogging after advice from Red Pepper!!! Love Sue

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  14. Absolutely stunning! You are so inspiring - thank you!

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  15. I am in total awe. I would love to take that class, but I have no idea if I am competent enough or if I'd be throwing my money away.

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  16. Your quilting is amazing!! I love the colour you chose!

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  17. Very unique and beautiful!
    Hugs - Lurlinen♥

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  18. Just stunning!!! Magnificent!

    Love those pebbles!

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  19. It's a stunning piece! I love the colour too. I'm glad the course was so worthwhile.

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  20. Amazing, stunning, wonderful, awesome... love the name - it's what we all are when we see it! Well done!

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  21. Perfect name! Just beautiful!

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  22. WOW WOW that is all I can say you are just amazing. What an artist with the needle.
    I am so jealous.

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  23. just beautiful.... what a treasure you have in quilting... i love it....
    such an inspiration to me...
    keep up the wonderful work
    love the green for sure
    ter

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  24. I love it! The color is beautiful and the quilting is absolutely perfect, great job!

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  25. How talented is your family? Wow!

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  26. Mind-boggling GORGEOUS! I just learned how to use the long-arm machine at my LQS so now I can rent time on it! So excited!
    Your talent is stunning :-)

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  27. Karen, I posted this on my facebook fan page. You did a beautiful job!

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  28. This is just lovely! I have thought of myself as a 'blue' girl but today when I was sorting clothes for the laundry, I had a WHOLE PILE of green shirts! LIME green! Who knew!? Maybe I have a 'green envy' in my future too. Gorgeous quilting!

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  29. Oh DROOL!!! I'm in awe of your skills!

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  30. Beautiful Karen, I love the green fabric, your wuilting looks just perfect!

    Kay in Scoltand

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  31. staggeringly fabulous! I am envious indeed!

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  32. Absolutely beautiful work!! Very inspiring!!! 8-)

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  33. So beautiful! Wow! That is just fabulous! I keep going back to look at it...amazing!

    MGM

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  34. This is amazing , you are beyond clever !!

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  35. Utterly amazing and such gorgeous work!!

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  36. wow!!! stunning! I want to go quilt now!

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  37. Oh, my goodness! This is amazing. Ah-MAZING! I am in complete awe. I feel like I only have inadequate words. That is beyond beautiful. I love it so much!

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  38. Such a stunning beauty and worth every minute you spent on it!!! I adore your feather quilting skills, so exactly done, also the cross hatching. I wish my skills were on the same level ;-)
    It's a gorgeous quilt. Congratulations!

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