Bottle Jam

It has been a while since I have blogged. According to google statistics, nobody is reading this and I got a bit discouraged. Still, if I don't put anything up, then nobody will see it. So if you are out there and would like to see more - please do let me know!

Bottle Jam - detail

 I showed you my bottle blocks a few blogs ago. I had pieced 3 together and quilted the outlines of bottles. I have now filled the shapes created with a variety of my quilting patterns. (Stay tuned to see them more clearly in forthcoming free-motion-quilting cameos)

Bottle Jam - detail

This was something of an experiment. It was great fun to do and quite a challenge manipulate the patterns to fit all those odd shapes.  However, it hasn't really been a success. Nobody who has seen it has spotted the quilted bottles - they have just noticed a lot of patterns. I think that the pieced bottles have such a strong colour, that they dominate. The mixture of quilted bottles superimposed on pieced bottles is just too much. You can see the quilting a little better on the back.

Bottle Jam back - detail

Bottle Jam back - detail

Bottle Jam back - detail

Bottle Jam back - detail

The idea is good, but I still think this is a bit too muddled. What do you think?

Thanks for dropping by

Hilary Florence

Catching up, bottles, UFOs and Free Motion Quilting

Blogger technical problems seem to have evaporated as suddenly as they appeared - both events seemingly without my intervention. So now I can catch up with some posts and share with you what I am up to sewing wise.

Revisiting an old UFO - an exercise in curved piecing using bottle shapes

Along side the 101 Free Motion Quilting Cameos, one of my projects for this year was to dig out and re-visit my UFOs (unfinished-objects). Having other work commitments has always meant that my imagination works quicker than my hands and time permit. I itch to get going with a new idea and my quilting life is littered with victims of my impatience to start something new before completing the current work.

I've recently blogged about bottle shapes and it is not the first time I've used them. A few years ago, I used them to practise curved piecing and made about 15 or so blocks, but never got around to sewing them together.

I decided, rather than to make one big piece I would make several smaller wall hangings. This would also give me the chance to try out several different quilting ideas.

3 bottle blocks added together to make a small wall-hanging

I started my quilter's life by dyeing material for the sheer love of colour. I got into piecing because it seemed to be the only thing to do with all this wonderful fabric I was creating. I got into curved piecing because I found stitching squares boring. And then I discovered the joys of free motion quilting and really got hooked.

I really wanted to use some of the designs from the cameos on this. So I've started out by quilting bottle outlines.

Bottle quilt - bottle shapes outlined in quilting

 The shapes are echoed - and I didn't want the lines to be totally parallel - although I've got one or two wobbles more than I wanted!!

Detail showing outlines to be quilted

Detail showing bottle shaped outlines to be quilted

This does make very awkward shapes to quilt - should be interesting!

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary