Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Grapes (and not 'of Wrath'!)


I've mentioned before that I have list of 17, count 'em *seventeen*, UFOs that I want to finish up before I start any new projects.  I've been making pretty good progress with a current count of 6 of those projects now completed.  It's sure a good feeling!  :-)

This needle-turn wall-hanging is one of the 6 that I've completed.  The pattern is from Nancy Lee Chong of Pacific Rim Quilting Company (this pattern is about half-way down the page).  You don't need to do needle-turn, Nancy offers other applique methods as well.

But back in June of 2012, I need a Forever Project™ and this was it.  Since it was a Forever Project,  I wasn't concerned about how long it would take me.  Even then, I was finished a month later.

Seriously, I love, *love*, LOVE Nancy's needle-turn method!  It just makes sense to me; it's uncomplicated, not messy and *no pins*!  :-)

Once the top was done, it got put away, as I wasn't in the mood for quilting.  But now that I am working from my List of 17 UFOs, this top popped to the top and now it's getting its 15 minutes of fame. :-)

Since this wall-hanging is for us, I wanted to do something different and not the same ol/same ol ... kinda like expanding my horizons.






So, I did a faux-trapunto on the grapes.  I've done this technique before and it turns out so nicely.












The new-to-me was quilting a design in the negative space.

What??  "That's not new!", you say.  And you'd be correct but .. it *is* new to me.

I usually quilt a background filler in the background space.  That's what background designs are for, right?

Thinking of an overt design was the new part.  I chose to "frame" the applique in a triple frame: narrow/wide/narrow.  On either side of the frame, I quilted Continuous Curves.

When I was marking the foundation grid prior to stitching the Continuous Curves, I discovered that I was less than accurate in my placement of the applique fabric on the background fabric.  ::sigh::  I ended up with less space at the top than at the bottom.  ::shrug::  I'll live with it.

This project is also my February finish for the Lovely Year of Finishes.

Those pictures are just teasers! For all the gory details, links and more pictures, please visit my web page for the Grapes wall-hanging.




Writtten by at

4 comments:

  1. Shannon2/21/13, 5:29 PM

    This is so lovely! I've been thinking about trying needle turn applique for a while but have always been intimidated. Maybe I'll look up the technique you're referring to.

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  2. Shelley: the Dread Pirate Rodgers2/21/13, 5:40 PM

    Shannon .. you won't be disappointed! The very first one I did was "Peace" (also by Pacific Rim Quilting Company) (www.prqc.com) It's *very* forgiving for first-timers. LONG straight edges and very easy curves. You can get your feet wet with that one before you tackle something more complex.

    You can see my first version of Peace at http://piraterodgers.com/quilting/2007-08-Peace-wallhanging/index.htm (after I gave that one to my oldest daughter, I eventually made a second one for myself. It remains ::ahem:: unquilted. :-) )

    I really, really, REALLY like this needleturn technique. :-)

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  3. Jane Holbrook2/22/13, 7:47 PM

    I recognized Nancy Chong's design and she would be so amazed at your rendition. Nice work. Very nice work. And nice blogging, too. I am still learning that fine art. Your applique and quilting are impressive.. Glad you took that piece out of time out. Happy Sewing!

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  4. Shelley: the Dread Pirate Rodgers2/23/13, 12:36 AM

    Well, thank you, Jane! For once, even with the quilting errors, I really like this piece myself. :-)

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