Modern Medallion Finished Top

First and foremost, thank you for all the kind comments left on my Handstitched Class week 3's post with regards to my Modern Medallion quilt-in-progress.  Truly appreciate the kind, encouraging words and advice from both readers and classmates.   Walking away from it for awhile, did help - somehow the solid patchwork colours just grew on me and I love how it has turned out at the end!   We're in the final installment week but I thought of sharing with you my progress from week 4 to date of Handstitched :Class:

Week 4 was all about the different techniques used to applique, and Rachel of Stitched in Color shared with us a few of her favourites.  We've worked with fusible web to applique the small and curvy Dogwood Buds and used a blanket stitch to finish those edges. 

Dogwood Buds

on-point squares before trimming to size

These Dogwood Buds were placed in-between the on-point square strips, then added to the quilt-in-progress.  4-patch blocks were added for each corner of this medallion round too.

week 4 progress

After the round with the Dogwood Buds and on-point squares,  there were just 2 more rounds to finish the quilt top!  One solid round - I've chosen Kona Cotton in Medium Gray which is designed to be a showcase for hand quilting.   And the last round, printed strips -  I've used a mixture of my favourite prints from the Summerlove line. 

Week 5 is the last week of Handstitched Class and Rachel has discussed the basic tools needed for hand quilting and most everything we need to know to hand quilt with pearl cotton thread.  I have my quilt top prepped but I couldn't start on my hand quilting yet since there wasn't enough leftover fabrics to piece a decent size backing! sigh...   I've ordered a few more solids though and it should arrive sometime early next week.

Finished Top!

Can't wait to pieced the back, baste and start on one of my favourite part about patchwork - hand quilting!


Just a short note to add that I've enjoyed and learned so much from Rachel's Handstitched Class - her detailed and easy to follow instructions, clear photos and videos made each and every project a success!  This Modern Medallion quilt and the other small projects made from this class will be cherished for many years to come!   =)


Wishing you a lovely weekend!


I'm linking up with Katie's Handmade Parade over at There and Back :

Quilting Gallery Contest Entry

Hi everyone!   Just a short post to ask you nicely if you would consider voting for my quilt 'My Flower Garden' which I've entered in the Quilting Gallery weekly contest this weekend.

Do you remember this quit  which I've blogged about here?

My quilt came about after seeing this quilt in the Australian Patchwork & Quilting vol. 18 no. 9 issue back in 2010.



I've used Marti Michell's 3/4" hexagon acrylic template and followed her dot-to-dot piecing technique.  There are more than 4,000 hexagons in this quilt, all hand-pieced and the centerpiece were hand-appliqued to the borders.

I've hand quilted in-the-ditch for the centerpiece and used variegated thread for the ribbon pattern on the borders.

I've used cotton batting and a wide width fabric for the backing. 













The whole process took me 13 months to complete and I'm very proud of it!  It being my first big quilt and everything was done by hand, no sewing machine used here!   It measures  85" x 95".

Here is the whole quilt :

Go on over and have a look at all of the lovely quilts HERE...  but feel free to vote for My Flower Garden if you like it!  

Thanks!   I appreciate your time!  =)

Have a great weekend!

Cast a Vote for Baltimore Blues

Over at Quilting Gallery, it's time to vote on Quilts for Mom.   I have entered the Baltimore Blues quilt into their weekly contest and would really appreciate your vote!

This quilt was a gift to my mom for Mother's Day last year.  It's the second Baltimore Album quilt I've made. It measures 60" x 85".  The pattern was purchased from Fat Cat Patterns by Sindy Rodenmeyer. 





Do check out the wonderful quilts submitted over at the Quilting Gallery.   I would love for your vote to be for my Baltimore Blues, but if you find others you like better, I certainly understand.  They are all just gorgeous!  Voting is taking place now through Monday 6pm Eastern. Click HERE to get to Quilting Gallery.

Thanks a bunch!



And to all the lovely moms out there, hope you have a fabulous weekend with your loved ones!

2011 Finishes

Besides the Flower Garden which you can read about it here and my Baltimore Album here, these are the other quilts which I've completed in 2011.

I've made another Baltimore Album quilt for my dearest mom (since she loved the one I made for my bed) and gave it to her as a Mother's Day gift. I used Sindy Rodenmeyer's Baltimore Blues pattern which I've purchased from Fat Cat Patterns awhile back.

Before Binding (left) and After

I started this quilt early last year. I hand appliqued the blocks and assembled the top within 4 months, I sent it out to my LQS for quilting as the batting were too thick and my needles kept breaking!  I was ambitious to tell them just to machine quilt the blocks and sashings and that I'll be hand quilting the side and corner triangles. However due to time constraint, as you can see the picture above, I commissioned my good friend Nordzie to help me with it.  She knew how tight my schedule was, so she went a step further by finishing the binding for me! It was so sweet of her! 

Lap Quilt measures 60" x 85".










This Log Cabin quilt was made for my daughter, Syairah. She wanted a bright and colourful quilt to cover her bed and she did play a part in selecting the fabrics for her quilt.

Assembling the blocks were abit of a challenge in the beginning but overcomed it after a few boo boo. The process of seeing the blocks coming together was really exciting and I couldn't wait to see the end product.

 I machine quilted 'in-the-ditch' and managed to whipped this baby up in 3 weeks!


The quilt is 56" x 65".  The colours gave a modern look to the traditional design and am glad my teenage daughter loves it!


Another finish for 2011 was a prayer mat. It was a request made by my sister-in-law, Eka Zahra, and I thought it would be nice to make it as a gift (since it was mentioned a few months prior to her birthday).  I wanted the mat to have a more subdued colour and chose neutrals which also happened to be her favourite!

I used one of the designs of the blocks I've made in my previous BA quilt and made it as a header in this mat. I've hand quilted the block and machine quilted the rest.

The prayer mat measures at 28" x 42".

Baltimore Album Quilt

I've always been inspired by pictures of Baltimore Album Quilts in magazines and decided to make one.

This project started in mid 2010. My LQS had a series of BA BOM and with much enthusiasm I've ordered the templates and started immediately upon receiving them.

A few of the completed blocks before trimming to size

These blocks finished at 16".  I hand appliqued the blocks using my favourite needle-turn method.   It took 5 months to complete all 13 of them.

 I wanted to try a new layout so I set the blocks on point and pieced them on a diagonal by machine.  I used a green tone-on-tone fabric for the stars and a soft green solid for sashings.

I hand quilted all the blocks, side and corner triangles. Machine quilted 'in-the-ditch' for both sashings and stars.

backing

Completed this baby in 8 months.

My Baltimore Album Quilt measures 103" square.

My hubby loves the fresh and vibrant colours of this beauty.