Tuesday 25 August 2015

House of the Rising Sun

Over the last week or so, I've been working on a class sample for a free motion quilting class I'll be teaching in November. It has been such a lot of fun to work on this quilt - and it's pretty much done! I have used Karlee Porter's Graffiti Quilting book as a jumping point for this quilt - it's a great ideas book. As I became more confident with this style of quilting, I tried to bring in my own elements more, but it's definitely inspired by Karlee's phenomenal work. All my students will be purchasing a copy of the book too - it's a great resource.


I am still unpicking that dark red bit in the middle, and I will fix that bit very soon - but apart from that it's finished. I definitely like some parts better than others - but it will be good to show students what works and doesn't work ;o)


It's really hard to capture the thread colours in photos, but I've used a rainbow of Aurifil threads (some 40wt, some 50wt) starting with red in the centre. Most of the thread colours I used were on the light side - I did start quilting with navy thread, but I decided pretty quickly that it was a bit dark, and changed to a softer variegated blue. I especially liked quilting with 40wt variegated thread on this quilt; once I got used to using contrasting thread it made it interesting to see the subtle change in colour starting to appear.


I used two layers of wool/cotton batting on this one (it's only about 40" square so it wasn't too heavy) - and it's given the quilting a gorgeous texture. It is a pretty stiff quilt with all that quilting though - which made it tricky to move it around toward the end!


It needs to be washed and blocked once it's completely done - it is pretty wavy around the edges, but I'm hoping it will flatten out when I block it.


I started quilting my Aviatrix today too - so I'm hoping I'll have more quilting progress to share soon :o)


xx Jess

22 comments:

Charlotte said...

O_O

Bloody hell - that's amazing! (those are my eyes, btw)

Anonymous said...

You have one gorgeous piece there!!!! The threads add so much! I have found that working with the colors is a tad more tricky than I had anticipated.....if too light or dark (too much contrast) it just doesn't work (for me). Maybe too much of a dominating ingredient. Love the contrast of your straight line spacing. So effective!!! Well done!

mynameislinds said...

I am absolutely blown away by how pheenominal this is!

Renee said...

This looks like such fun I want to drop all my projects and make one too.

Rosemary B❤️ said...

Jest absolutely beautiful
♥️

Serena @ Sewgiving said...

Wow! It looks like you just went for it ... amazing results, I could look at this piece forever :)

Sue said...

Which are the parts you don't think are working again? It all looks gob-smackingly amazing to me!

Leanne said...

Stunning, and so inspiring. I am very interested to see/hear how it changes after a wash and blocking too. I am motivated to try something like it soon.

Molli Sparkles said...

I just can't even.

DoubleL said...

Amazing, I am in awe of how you know what to quilt where, and where do all the ideas and shapes come from. I anguish over this.

Unknown said...

Absolutely love the quilting Jess! I wonder how it would look in navy or black on the White? You use a long arm, right? Envy!. Kate

Michele said...

Wow! Just wow!

magistra said...

Uh huh, yeah, your quilting is a WOW. Stunning.

Cheryl said...

I love it! I wish I could take your class!

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Thank you! I guess it's part practice and part using Karlee's book for inspiration wuth the shapes I've used here. Her book is great for ideas and shapes I haven't tried before.

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Thank you Kate! I'd love to try it on a dark background, I think it would be really effective. And no, I don't have a longarm, all my work is done on my domestic Bernina 440 :o)

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Thank you! I'm with you on the high contrast thread. I much prefer a subtle contrast - I was finding it so difficult to follow the same thread path with really dark thread :o)

Suze said...

Beautiful quilting. Each time I see beautiful quilting, I think I must dedicate some time to practicing the technique. I took a FMQ class a couple of years ago and was very discouraged. Then some time later, I pulled out my class work and I was much happier with it after being away from it. I think I was comparing my work to the teacher's work instead of seeing what I actually was accomplishing. She was very encouraging and told me I was doing a great job and I just didn't see it. Last year I purposed to practice my FMQ and didn't do that and that was again a goal for this year. I've had some health issues and haven't even pieced a quilt this year, so maybe that's a goal for next year now that I'm back in the pink. I wish I were close and could take your class. Learning from different perspectives can be wonderful. I'm librarian for my local quilt guild this year and again next, so I may purchase this book for our library. There is a great interest in books on quilting as well as piecing. Thanks for the inspiration.

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Millie said...

That is beautiful! love your quilting...You have inspired me to put a practice piece on and just doodle.. Thanks

Unknown said...

I really like Karlee Porter's work and have been watching her latest video. Great seeing what you have managed to do, Rosemary Muntus UK

patsy said...

iI absolutely love your work. I only discovered you today. would you mind if I used some elements of your work on my small whole cloth quilt which I MIGHT enter in a quilting competition? you inspire me. I am not a seasoned free motion quilter but do have some experience.