I've Been Quilting - Part 2

Tuesday night I trimmed the piece and put the binding on by machine and started hand sewing it down on the back.  I finished the hand sewing on Wednesday morning!

TaDa!!!

And here's why I made it.  In December, at a craft show, I found this little antique wire horse basket.  It came with the heart and the bear, which are considered "prims".  Did I mention it is a horse?

I had originally used this honeycomb piece but it was a bit small, and I wanted something darker in color.  I looked for cream and navy civil war prints, but everything was a bit too light for what I wanted.  Thus, the Nocturne collection.

You can see in comparing the picture above and the one below that darker was better.

These last two photos are a bit light in color--tried two lighting sources and these came out the best(?).  You may also notice the little log cabin pin in the basket; something I had that fit the theme.  And behind the bear is a tiny tree made from an old quilt remnant.

So that's the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey used to say.  I love this piece and look forward to making more things from the Nocturne fabrics.

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

I've Been Quilting - Part 1

With the strange weather we've been having (again), I have spent quite a few days at home and I've been pretty productive!

A few months ago I bought a layer cake of Janet Clare's Nocturne (Moda) plus a yard each of a cream and a navy (same collection).  They aged, though not as long as some of my stash!  (And, yes, I did wash the layer cake!)

On Sunday I cut the honeycomb shapes and started arranging them.  On Monday I pieced the top.  It was okay, but it was a bit big for what I had in mind.  (I actually didn't have much of a plan, which is why I did more work than I needed to.)  I decided to sleep on it and see what I wanted to do.

On Tuesday morning I decided to fix the problem.  I folded back the short ends until I had what I thought was a more reasonable length.  You can see the line I drew in chalk (at the number 25 on the mat).  There is another line at the other end.

Because this was hand pieced, I wanted to be sure the ends would not fray where I was cutting.  (If you have ever tried to take out hand stitching, you know it's pretty difficult; but you also know me--The Belt-and-Suspenders-Girl.)  So I stitched by machine 1/8 inch inside the drawn lines.

Then I used a ruler and cutter and cut on the drawn line.  Voila!  It is so much prettier and more in keeping with what I had in mind.  Compare this pic with the first one.

I basted for hand quilting and...

quilted the entire piece on Tuesday.

Triple lines of quilting.  I just love the texture.  The thread is a variegated cream to tan in a 30 wt.  I used a Hera Marker and a ruler to draw the lines; no marks to remove.

A shot of the back.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where you will get to see the final piece and what I made it for.  I think you will be surprised!

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

P.S.  I am listening to Back of Beyond by C.J. Box.  Seriously, if you haven't read or listened to any of his work, you are really missing out.