Gold Fever

This was the piece that started it all off. I wanted to see if I could make some of my designs circular. And I wanted to try something out on metallic fabric. I was thrilled with the results. It looks like beaten gold, and reminds me of Viking treasures. I knew that I wanted to do a second Fracture piece with this. Trials and design done, I  entered this piece for the Festival of Quilts confident that 3 months was ample time to make the quilt.

Then came the awful discovery that I could not get any more of this cotton backed metallic foil fabric. The shop I had bought it from had run out - were not going to get any more - couldn't remember the rep who had sold it to them. I started ringing around all the big stores in the UK and trawling the Internet but with no success.

My second try was with a gold lame fabric. It looks good, but it doesn't have that appearance of a metal sheet because it is a woven fabric. It also frays like mad and would be hopeless for fine piecing. It quilts OK in that it takes the stitching with no problem, but the non stitched areas bag and the piece looses all definition - I'm not sure how clear that is in the photo. It was also a very pale gold, almost a white gold which wasn't really the look I was after. I have a large piece of this quilted - about 36" square. It is no good for the FOQ piece, but look out for it somewhere else. Not sure what to do with it, but I don't want to waste all that work! Another, more personal problem that I had with it was its very high reflectivity. Like many migraine sufferers I find that bright lights can trigger a migraine and after about the 3rd one whilst working on this piece, I realised it was the fabric!! I tried quilting with sun glasses on, which certainly helped with the reflection, but alas I could not see where I was going. Slight problem!

The next piece was a metallic foil backed with an open net. It doesn't fray, but it is very flimsy and would be difficult to piece with cotton. One of the things I have discovered with this post is how difficult it is to accurately photo gold. Here, the colour looks fine - as it did on the net when i bought it. In reality it is very brassy. It looks bad imitation gold - cheap and tacky. I am not sure if you can see it here, but also the texture of the backing net shows through.

Version 4 was a fold faux leather. It cuts well and stitches well - no problem at all but you do need a leather needle. It is a very thick fabric. I'm not sure it would piece well with cotton and it certainly wouldn't do my favourite sliver piecing. Although it quilts well it doesn't look a bit like metal and colour wise it looks more like champagne than gold. So,on to version 5.

This is a supposedly gold spandex. It does look gold in the photo - which is why I bought it, but again colour on the net is deceptive. This is quite a dark metallic brown and looks quite dark and dull combined with black. It is also very stretchy so a bit tricky to quilt.

What the next fabric arrived through the post I though I had struck gold! the colour was perfect. It is also on a net backing, but not quite so loose weave as the first one. The problems began when I tried to quilt in the circle guide lines.

One problem with metallics is that none of the usual markers work. You have to mark and quilt from the back. As the only thing I mark is the circles, I had then preceded to the right side to quilt all the pattern in the previous versions. However, this gold fabric just stuck to the machine table - even with a Teflon slider. I tried lifting it and feeding it through. Not a technique that works folks, don't try it. Next I pin pricked the outlines. This was better, but very difficult to follow accurately. And with metallics, all pin pricks show - so no taking out. Whatever you do is what you live with.

And the next problem was even more serious.

The stitching has a tendency to split the fabric and the batting peeks through.

Well, I suppose you could say going for gold isn't easy!! Never have I had to do so many version of a quilt!

thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk

Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

Lizzie Lenard @ http://lizzielenard-vintagesewing.blogspot.co.uk/

...and then 3 came at once!

It is a known fact in British folk lore that you have to wait hours for a bus to come - and then 3 come at once. So it is with my FMQ Cameos. I have been very lax about posting them in the past few week - literally sidetracked! So here are 3 at once.

That is the Question - fmq Cameo 35

The first one, based on a question mark is aptly named 'That is the Question'. I know I keep saying 'I really enjoy quilting this motif' but the curls on this one are fun to do. It took a bit of practice to get the thicks and the thins as I wanted, but I am pleased with them now. Putting the motif in a box allows me to also include the motif inverted. This is an idea that I use with quite a few of my motifs.

Ripped Ribbon - fmq Cameo 36

This is one of those motifs that looks different depending on whether you look at the positive or the negative. I conceived it as a ribbon with random rips in it and I think it may be more effective as a single row. There are 4 rows here, so that you can also see a very odd what? - tree trunk with short, stubby branches? Definitely go with the ribbon - it's prettier!

Fmq Cameo 37

I haven't come up with a name for number 37 yet (all suggestions welcome). I hope you can see what I have done because it is easier than describing it! The idea was that the little vertical lines joining the S shapes, themselves create  a curving vertical shape and also alter the balance between the two bowls of the S. I told you it was easier to look!

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk

Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

Lizzie Lenard @ http://lizzielenard-vintagesewing.blogspot.co.uk/

Sidetracked finished

Here is the completed Sidetracked - somewhat bleached by the sun I think.

I've shown you the background and the making of the tracks in my last two posts

I debated several fancy shapes for tracks, but in the end I decided to stick with the simplicity of the piece and just go for a straight line down one side.

When I made Fracture, I appliqued the quilted body directly onto the background with a machine blanket stitch. This works well, but does leave a raw edge of sorts. This time, I decided to face the quilted part and then hand stitch it to the background.

This is a lot of extra work but it gives a totally different finish; much neater - the stitches do not show on the front or back as I didn't go all the way through the backing. It is also raised up, sitting on the surface. I would be interested to hear what you think of this and which finish you prefer.

I had intended to tuck the end under, but didn't leave quite enough length to do that and I quite like the small overlap.

I also faced the edges of the background giving a similar finish to both.

One mistake I did make was to forget that in facing the tracks, I would lose some of the width. They are therefore I bit narrower than I had planned, which I think shows. I like this piece, but I'm not entirely happy with it. I think it is because the tracks are just that bit too narrow. Humm. What do you think?

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk

Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

Lizzie Lenard @ http://lizzielenard-vintagesewing.blogspot.co.uk/

Sidetracked - the tracks

Progress - such as it is or isn't - on my show quilt has still come to a halt as I can't find my cotton backed gold material. I am awaiting one more delivery of my last internet find. If that isn't right, I'll just have to do with what I've got. And what I have got is a lot of various types of gold lame and foil material, so gold will have to feature somewhere in my future quilts!

So on to my tracks for Sidetracked.

I've pieced together irregular strips of various cottons and silks in neutral colours. I've put in random slivers of gold just to give a bit of a highlight. This is a technique I have used in quite a few quilts, such as Ugly Duckling see here. The gold lame just frays too much for this.

As you can see, I got a little bit carried away with my strips - this is a long piece - about twice as long as I need. Never mind, more to play with. I tried quilting with white but that was very insipid, so I switched to gold thread. You can't really tell in the photo, but that had a lot more kick.

It was a beautiful day, so quilting out in the garden again. Please don't think it is always beautifully sunny. It is because we don't get that many sunny days that I can't bear to be inside sewing when it is dry and warm.

Here are a couple of close ups. Each strip is quilted with a different motif, many of them you will recognise by now. I think I counted 59 in total. This is my absolute favorite part of the making a quilt, so I had great fun doing this. Some of the beige silks I picked up cheaply at a market and they are in reality furnishing fabric. They are a bit tough to quilt and you can see it bubbling a bit. A good bit of steam should fix that.

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk

Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

Lizzie Lenard @http://lizzielenard-vintagesewing.blogspot.co.uk/

Side-tracked

When I am working on plain white fabric as a background  one of my concerns is that it is - well just that - plain white. It doesn't have colour or the texture of dyed fabric to add interest. So I have been experimenting with adding texture, using scrunched up very find cotton.

It was also a lovely day, so I took the sewing machine into the garden.

Here is a close up of the final effect. The cotton is rushed and then stuck down to a backing fabric. I tried using both bondaweb and temporary glue spray and both work well, but for this larger piece I used bondaweb. I did quite a few trials of patterns to see which worked. Some are too fine and just get lost in the folds, but line, particularly across the fold work well. For a background, I always like to mix and match the patterns a bit, so I've used 3 here. The quilting has to also be quilt large.

The patterns are more obvious from the back. I also had to quilt this from the back, to avoid getting the quilting foot caught up in the folds.

Here is back and front together to see the contrast. I really like this. From a distance what you get is a much stronger, more vibrant texture than quilting alone will provide. As you come closer, variations in pattern become clearer and draw you in.

I have in mind some pieced neutrals to applique onto this. I'm going to call it 'Sidetracked' because the piecing will look a bit like tracks - but also I am of course getting sidetracked from my show quilt for the Birmingham Festival of Quilts. Some ideas won't wait to come out!

And talking of show quilts, the two quilts I sent of to the Malvern Quilt Show have returned. As well as 'White on Black, Black on White' that I blogged about a couple of weeks ago, I had also entered 'Fracture' into the small wall hanging category

There were no judges comments, but 'Fracture' came back with a 'judge's merit' rosette. I am really thrilled as I was afraid my ribbon for 'Square Spiral' might be a one off. So now I should get back to the FOQ quilt (to be named Cosmic Split) - or maybe I'll just get sidetracked again!!

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk

Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/
Lizzie Lenard @http://lizzielenard-vintagesewing.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/where-has-free-motion-friday-gone.html