Sunday 1 January 2012

The Mission Continues!

First of all may I wish everyone who takes the time to visit this blog a very Happy and Creative New Year. I hope you aim higher than you think you should and that you surprise yourself with what you can achieve. To misquote that song, 'It's a new dawn and a new day and I'm feeling good' but before I feel free enough to launch into challenges new I have to finish stuff that's been lurking in various piles in my workroom. There's no way I can focus when unfinished business stares at me from all sides!


Remember this little quilt top? I made it in a mad frenzy of excitement after we had Edwina Mackinnon demonstrate her 'Cut and Come Again' technique for DMTV. The piecing was really enjoyable but because we're always so busy the top then languished up a corner while other things took over. In my mission to purge the workroom I made the unusual decision to delegate! You may know that my sister Maureen offers a longarm machine quilting service. Having seen some of her recent commissions I knew she was just what I needed!


She added an 80/20 cotton and poly wadding with a cream coloured backing and quilted the sandwich with a lovely fluid design using a caramel coloured thread that really pulls the whole thing together. I'm so pleased with how my quilt looks on the coffee table in the conservatory!


And my collection of glass marbles in its lovely blue patterned dish looks right at home with the new quilt!

I love how Maureen's quilting has transformed the patchwork but I couldn't let her do my favourite bit - the binding. I may be easy to please but there's little I like more than the satisfaction of a neat binding and a perfect mitre! I'm going through more of the heaps to my see what else I can send her!

Hope you'll finish (and start) lots of new projects this year too even if you rely on a little outside help.

Thanks for dropping by to visit - Linda

9 comments:

  1. Happy New Year, Linda! Glorious colour play in that table topper.

    I too have resolved to finish before I start -- which includes finishing my hexie sample before I make my new one for Activity #6 -- but I am already reading up on Canadian quilt history to see what I want to make...

    All the best and have a lovely holiday,
    M

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  2. Thanks Margaret - it was only made from odd scraps so I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Always more satisfying to use up leftover bits and pieces than to cut into new yardage! Happy New Year to you too -let's hope for a productive one!

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  3. A Happy and Creative New Year to you and Laura.

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  4. Thanks Susan - here's hoping it's a good one for us all!

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  5. Happy New Year to you and Laura!
    The quilt looks gorgeous! I love the quilt design - very, very nice.
    Best wishes!
    Michaele

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  6. Love this table topper too!!
    Sometimes delegating is just what we need. You both did a good job with this.

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  7. Happy New Year, Linda and Laura! May your creative muse always be by your side. The quilt looks wonderful on the table, but I must admit, I was focusing more on the bowl of marbles. Beautiful!!! I love how they all glow and shimmer. Here is to a creative and productive 2012~

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  8. I am ashamed to say that although I have made 100 of these blocks for a bed quilt, I still have not pieced them. I still can't make up my mind between straight blocks or putting strips of fabric to make a strippy one.

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  9. Vicki you've got the best part still to come! Now that you have so many blocks to play with try dealing them out like a deck of cards - take a quick photo then rearrange them. Take another photo. Repeat as many times as you like and then compare the photos to choose your favourite. You can compare straight sets with strippy, you can group the darker blocks together and surround them with the paler ones, you can create diagonals with the prints........ It's like the best party game. Have fun!

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