LMS

Hey Folks!–Today we are enjoying day #2 of Spring Break–we kicked it off with a fun bit of snow yesterday–lots of snow & Spring Break, both events are equally as much fun for me now as they were when I was a kid.

Anyhoo, today I’m sharing my Petals Runner.

It’s in the current issue of Fons & Porters Easy Quilts.  This was another fun collaboration with RJR fabrics using fabrics from their line of Cotton Supreme Solids.

Love these colors!–And I think the back of the runner is just as cool as the front!

This is a great project if you are interested in trying out machine applique.  Gentle curves & a symmetrical template make this a breeze for a beginner.  I finished it off with a bit of straight line quilting–and voila!–a great spring project.

Happy Quilting!

I have received numerous questions recently about using Perle Cotton for quilting whether by hand or by machine.  So, I thought I’d talk a bit about the two techniques.

The Faux Sashiko pillow(pictured above) that I designed for the fall issue of Stitch magazine was machine quilted using Perle Cotton.  This is a great time saving trick, but one I would really only reccommend on smaller projects–my machine gets a bit cranky when using the heavier weight thread and I certainly wouldn’t want to attempt it on a larger quilt.

When I machine quilt using Perle, I only use the Perle for my top thread–the bobbin thread is regular thread.  I use 8 wt. Perle cotton–although 12 wt. might make my machine a bit happier with me.  I always lengthen my stitches–I usually set my stitch length as long as I can on my Bernina.  And I manually pull the thread off the Perle cotton spool so my machine doesn’t have to work so hard.  I leave my tension at the same setting I would use for regular sewing.

My Fall Petals Pillow is hand quilted using 8 wt. Perle Cotton.  Hand quilting with Perle Cotton is essentially the same thing as hand quilting with quilting weight thread.  The technique is the same, but you take longer stitches and you get to use prettier thread. =p

There are a lot of great resources for hand quilting–one of my favorites is from Mary.

Appliqued Pillow

 I almost exclusively use Finca Perle Cotton which I can now purchase locally.  Prior to purchasing locally, I purchased online from Yarn Bazaar.  I was able to purchase a color card from them which is a wonderful tool if you are unable to view the thread colors in person.

Machine Quilted Journal Cover

 Hopefully this answers some of your burning questions about quilting with Perle Cotton! =p

I’m excited to be a contributor in the latest issue of Fat Quarterly, issue # 7, which is all about Color!  I had such fun designing & making this pillow which is based off of an old traditional pattern–amazing how fresh fabrics & modern quilting can totally transform a traditional pattern!

Do you remember this rainbow stack of fabrics I showed you awhile back?

These are all of the fabrics I pulled to make my X Marks the Goose pillow.  And incidentally, I have a little baggie with the left over scraps from making my pillow–if you’re interested in some, leave me a comment and I’ll use good old RNG & send some rainbow scraps your way.

Issue #7 is on sale beginning today & includes the pattern for X Marks the Goose as well as many other fantastic patterns.  Fat Quarterly is an online magazine and can be purchased here. 

Mr. Reindeer has been finished–binding all sewn down.  Thanks for all of your machine binding tips!–One great thing about sewing binding on pillows is it sure goes a heck of a lot faster than it does for a quilt. =p

And now on to our thread winners:

I really enjoy a good fabric hunt–thrill of the chase, divide and conquer and all that jazz.  So, when I saw the above fabric in purse form at a local shop and I really liked it, I wondered if I’d be able to find some of my own.  Admittedly it was a Vera Bradley purse which aided me greatly in my online search-a-thon (actually a quick search on Etsy did the trick).  It arrived yesterday & I think it is just lovely–I have already incorporated it into it’s very own fabric stack.

Incidentally, does anyone have any great fabric suggestions to coordinate with the lighter purple in the fabric?  I’ve got plenty of the darker purple but not so much on the lighter purple.  I know I have a Liberty of London fabric stashed somewhere that would be perfect but I can’t find it for the life of me.  Or, any suggestions for the blue?–it’s kind of a denim blue–not too far off from the blue mono pez or the blue daisy fabric from the Peas & Carrots line of fabric.  My fabric stash leans more towards aqua blues.

I also started, and finished, the quilting on a Strawberry Fields quilt today.

You may recognize these as the blocks I had to sew twice… =p

I plan to have a tutorial for this quilt on my blog sometime in May probably.  It’s a fun quilt that comes together pretty quickly as long as you have bobbin thread. =)