BLOG 217

We have been having replacement windows installed this week so, as the house was totally disrupted, I had no alternative but to seek refuge in my sewing room. Oh joy!  So I have made good progress on the Lady of the Lake quilt to such an extent that I may be taking it away to be ‘quilted by cheque book’ this coming week. I started by adding a 2 ½” cut border all round, using the same fabric as the inset triangles. Because I had made the edge triangles slightly larger than I needed, I was able to leave a small space beyond the tip of the triangle thus ensuring they were all pointed!

                                       First border

I had a quantity of half square triangles left over from constructing the blocks which I didn’t want to waste but I didn’t particularly want to make any more. So I decided to join them together to make a decorative line for the top edge of the quilt only.

                                      Half square triangles

                                       Row of triangles

                                            Decorative edge

 All I needed to do then was to resolve the other 3 borders with the minimal amount of effort. The way I was thinking at that moment was that the quilt had lots of interest and detail already. Plainer borders would therefore be preferable to frame and support the quilt centre. But I also wanted the colours to seep towards the outer edge. To that end, I cut the neutrals into 2 ½” squares and the blues into 2 ½” x 4 ½” strips. These were added in a random sequence to create the second border. Some adjustment to length was made by using slightly longer strips at the corners for a good fit.

                                          Second border

The final border was a 2 ½” strip along the top edge and a 4 ½” strip along the three remaining borders using the same neutral fabric. Job done! I really like the impact of this quilt and now need to make a valance and put wooden cladding on the wall instead of a bed head.

                                         Completed top

 

As far as the other project (Susan Lenz) is concerned, I managed to sew the free-motion pattern lines over the surface using a black cotton thread. Now it’s time to use the soldering iron and a heat gun. I hope the weather holds for the coming week as this must be done outside.

                                           Pattern samples

                                   Surface detail 1

                                     Surface detail 2