Some pictures

I have almost recovered from the weekend, more on that in a moment, and I thought I was time I put up some pictures of my MQS entries.

First is Burning Chrome, this quilt top was made by Robin Tregaskis. Rather annoyingly the quilting is practically impossible to photograph. I've tried all sorts of tricks to make it show but it isn't playing ball. Still it is a striking quilt, and in person you can see that it is covered in red flames, which do suit it very well.

I guess I should add that these are all entries in the same category, the Bread and Butter category. It has been a very valuable experience making these quilts. I would never have made this pattern without the show but it has given me a lot more insight into how fabrics work together and how balance changes the final look of the quilt. I am actually helping a friend make one as her first quilt now too.

This quilt you've seen before, it is "My Fat Quarter of Paradise". It now has wide black borders on each side. Of course that makes it too big for me to photograph. Typical. You just have to imaging the rest of it, one more row of blocks and then the borders.

As requested here is a close up of the quilting. These feathers flow all over the quilt. The thread is variegated so as the fabric colour and the thread colour change the feathers appear and disappear. I am very pleased with the effect. British customs did their best to stop me finishing this quilt but the British longarm quilters bailed me out. I posted the request and had a string of calls offering me the thread I needed to finish. I hadn't even dared to hope someone would have it. I can't wait for this quilt to finish it's tour of duty and arrive on my bed. I love it.
The last of the Bread and Butter quilts is "Road to Mondrian". This one is the same size as Burning Chrome. It is 30 Turning Twenty blocks. It has 10 fat quarters of plain black in it and is quilted with my decadent swirls. This is a fantastic background or all over fill. I really enjoy quilting it and I think is shows. Lots of movement and texture.

The thread on this one is a variegated again but much more subtle than on the previous quilt. The purples in the thread work well with the plain purple back. Yes I know I am supposed to use busy backs, but I had it and I like it so I used it. It's come out pretty well so I don't think I will be stressing about it.

It doesn't really show in the pictures but all the colours are batiks. They all came from Hanna's Room at the Chilford Show. It probably isn't obvious but they do make a pretty good spectrum of colours when you see them together. I wanted to see how that would come across in the quilt. I think the answer is it gives a very balanced feel, so I will be repeating that in the next one I make with more black in. I think this quilt will be staying with me as well. It will make it easier for me to retire a couple of my first quilts. They weren't the best constructed to start with and after constant use they are showing some wear. I have debated just carying on using them, but I think they have too much value to me to do that. I love being able to see how I have improved over the time I have been quilting.