A UFO bites the dust

I love "Topsy-Turvy" blocks. We make lots of quilts for Project Linus this way. Don't have to worry about seam allowances and if the blocks are a little off on size you can fix it when you cut the topsy.

D> This was one of my long languishing UFOs but now it has a new home in

Very nice! I always wondered how best to use the "Twist and Turn" technique and now I know - very effective! My niece would love that quilt... green is her favourite colour. Well done you, on finishing a UFO.

I've just finished the second quilted, bound, cot bumper for Tristan. He now has an alphabet and numbers 0-9 on each side of him, plus his Hungry Animals quilt beneath him as he sleeps. I often hear "A, B, C, D, E, F G...." when he wakes up!

-- Jo in Scotland

In many ways I am glad I waited before tackling it as during that time my machine quilting skills have improved, so I was able to do more justice to it. It was quite an effort maneouvring it through my ordinary sewing machine.

Oh how cute! Is he still busy cooking wonderful meals in his new kitchen?

Lizzy

Nice quilt and terrific gift! Good work. Thanks for sharing. Taria

This was one of my long languishing UFOs but now it has a new home in South Korea with one of my husband's colleagues and his wife.

Lizzy

That quilt makes me want to tune up "When Irish Eyes are Smiling". I love green too. Polly

"Lizzy Taylor" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:4ffd99f2$0$1138$ snipped-for-privacy@news.zen.co.uk...

That is a really pretty one; no idea why you didn't finish it any sooner. I'm fond of the green, too. How did you do it? Did you applique the differently patterned squares onto the larger ones in the odd angle or did you do it all by adding the appropriately shaped bits of fabric? (You must forgive this question, I'm quite a newbie to the business.) And how did you do the quilting? Hand or machine? If machine, how did you do it? I got me the Bernina Aurora QE 440 with the stitch regulator and had an opportunity to try it out on my first finished quilt object recently. However, since I bought the machine online, I didn't get the lessons with it, and am struggling along on my own, with the manual and the DVD that came along with it. I did some stippling-like stuff in some parts and it went so-so-la-la; then I tried to do some other ornaments on the squares and it was a total failure. I had to unpick three squares, and that was really nasty work, especially since I was running out or time, and one of the squares was made from satin. Fortunately, the holes were no longer visible after I had finished everything. Still, I deeply admire the twigs or feathers on your quilt and wonder how you do that when using a machine. And I'm at a loss how you could part with that beauty! ;-)

U. U.

Thank you for all your kind words Ursula, questions are answered below:

Plucking up courage to take on a big quilt and improving my skills in the meantime.

I added wedge shaped triangles using Sharyn Craig's Twist'n'Turn method.

Free motion machine quilting - that is what I have been practicing on and off while waiting to tackle my big quilt tops. My attitude is that the wobbles only really show before you wash out the washable marker. After that nobody else knows where the quilting should have gone :-)

The feathers were quite daunting to start with, but I got into a rhythm as I did more of them (64 in total - I must have been mad).

I think when practicing free motion machine quilting it is important to have a big enough piece that you can get moving about, and a bit more excess batting & backing than you really need for say a 30 to 45 cm square piece gives you something to hold on to. I also wear gardening gloves with little rubber bobbles on them to give me more grip without having to hang on to the fabric for grim death.

As to letting the quilt go to a new home? Simple - it was too small for our super-king bed !

Lizzy

Congratulations Lizzy on finishing your UFO. It sounds beautiful. I sure wish I was able to access pictures so I could see it. Tackle another UFO and soon they'll all be history. Then you get to make some more without feeling guilty!

Yes, he was making curry and naan bread yesterday as I made a korma and naan bread. I think he prefers biryani to be honest! The only trouble is, he's underfoot all the time now in the kitchen... time to him peeling and chopping - he's already mastered the bread machine and pizza making.

Also, he keeps dragging boxes around to be his table, refrigerator and so on. I'm now investigating a table & chairs set so I can have the "big kitchen" back. He spends all his time in the kitchen at nursery too. Think he'll be a chef?!?

-- Jo in Scotland

Very nice, Lizzy! Twist & Turn, right? :)

Yep, it worked really well and then after I had the top put together I found an error in the order I had laid the blocks out. It stayed, having got the top together I wasn't unpicking it.

Lizzy