'Lil'Twister Quilt Finished

Well, the long Easter weekend was quite a productive one for me. We decided not to go away, but to stay and enjoy the few days of glorious sunshine. Harri went back up to Durham on Thursday, dissertation well under way, so I got my computer back. Madlen was working on Good Friday and Easter Monday, so there was just Mr Hare and myself. We had a busy day of gardening on Friday (still lots more to do though) and went out to The Bear in Crickhowell in the evening with friends.

 

 

These tulips I planted in the autumn have been wonderful and flowering much earlier than usual.

 

 

 

I planted two big pots full of these colours and another two pots ( which aren't quite so advanced) of pinks and purples. The weather has been unusual again this year. My wisteria is just coming into flower already, a good 3-4 weeks earlier than is normal.

Mr Hare went away on Sunday and Monday, leaving me to sew. Bliss! So, this :

 

 

 

 

became this:

 

 

which became this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These phone photos aren't doing it any justice, because it is very pretty.

 

Quilt stats:

34 x 44 inches

Front made with a mixture of prints  including lots of Posy, some Wee Wander and lots of others.

Edging made with pale grey Sketch from Timeless Treasures.

Back made with some lavender flannel I bought in Joann's when I was in the States in February

Binding Roman Glass in pink by Kaffe Fassett.

Quilted with So fine ( no 401) by Superior threads.

 

This is the first quilt I have quilted on my longarm since it was reassembled after the fire. Before that, I had only quilted 2  quilts on my longarm, so I am a real novice.

What have I learned so far? Well, stippling is a very forgiving quilting design, and although I need lots more practice the quilt doesn't look too bad. I also found out to leave more overlap in the throat distance. When I had finished, I had a line of missed quilting all the way across. Fortunately, I just reloaded the quilt with the back facing upwards and filled in the gap.

I tried to plan my quilting using a hera marker. Well, that didn't work, I couldn't see the lines.I tried a blue chalk pen- same thing. So I abandoned that and just winged it. I also found I couldn't see where I had previously quilted ( the light in my sewing room is very bright) and so there are some overlapping quilting lines.

 

This has got me fired up and ready for some more. So, this afternoon I'll load up another one and get going. I also discovered I need to buy some more wadding. This is a real dilemma. What do I go for? I really like Quilter's Dream Orient, but it's relatively expensive. Do I order a whole roll of wadding and become a proper grown up quilter?