Well I made a start on the stitchery for "Blå visdomsord - Inspirasjonsmodell".Hanne sent me this kit in January - these fabrics are really pretty. The pattern is by AnnAKa, and is is a mixture of stichery and applique - by hand this time, not machine!! Everything that you need to make the runner was in this kit - the fabrics, the ribbon, the Vliseline H250, the stitchery stabiliser - even the backing and binding fabric..... .....after some very late-night messages last night with Eva to help with the translation, this has proved to be the easiest applique method ever - drawing the template onto the Vliseline, sewing it to the fabric, making a cut in the Vlisoline..... .....then hey presto - turning it the right way through, iron it onto the backing fabric and a few slip stitches later this is the result..... .....blocks and borders all sewn together, and the quilting has started. I've quilted this runner very simply, just using stitch-in-the-ditch around each block, and around each appliqued heart, and some straight lines along the borders..... .....runner is finally completed with the binding on. This shows one end of the runner, with the block decorated with a vintage picture and lace trimming (this was a scrap of lace left over from Beth's Christening gown that I made her when she was only a few weeks old - my mantra was NEVER to throw anything away), and the block with a ribbon trim..... .....and the other end of the runner showing the block with the stitchery and the block with the buttons (these little heart shaped buttions were salvaged from one of Beth's frocks when she was a little girl - see?? NEVER throw anything away)..... .....and here is the completed runner - this looks so pretty. The stitchery translated says "As long as there are grandmothers, there will be love in the world" :)
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My friend Hanne left me a comment, saying that she wanted to see the whole runner - so here it is - I really liked this pattern - as I liked these hearts so much, I might have to do another runner with appliqued hearts, the truely utterly gorgeous "Blå visdomsord" Inspirasjonsmodell (translated into English means Words of Wisdom - inspired model) next - it has a mixture of applique and stitchery, and the kit that Hanne sent to me(yes I know - ANOTHER kit) is absolutely beautiful :) Well I made a start on the Sommerhjerter tablerunner at the weekend - lots of little black and white 4-patch centre blocks surrounded by a grey border - these fabrics are lovely to sew with..... .....then I made a template to use as a guide for the stichery - lots of backstitch and lazy-daisy flowers..... .....and finally these blocks are sewn together with the borders - now I've just got to practise my free-motion quilting before I get this runner completed. In my previous blog post I wrote about the lovely kits that Hanne, from Lappedilla, puts together - and here is one that she sent me in the summer of 2009. This pattern is called "Sommerhjerter" (Summer Hearts), and is from Quiltmagasinet issue 3, 2009, and is designed by AnnAKa. As you can see, I haven't used this kit yet, but maybe over the weekend?.....I had already made a runner using another one of Hanne's kits in 2009, using fabrics similar to the one in the magazine, and it looked beautiful when it was finished.
Last week my friend Hanne sent me a great parcel from Norway - the latest issue of a Norwegian quilting magazine, Quiltemagasinet, and a kit to make some placemats - Vårlige tulipanhus (translated - Springtime Tulip House). Hanne is so good at picking out fabrics, and means I have no excuse in doing this project :) .....and yes, you guessed it, Vårlige tulipanhus was designed by AnnAKa. When I went to Norway recently, Hanne had a sample in her shop of a runner made from linen, so that gave me an idea. I bought some of this beautiful linen from Lappedilla - which I thought would go beautifully with some batiks from my stash (my absolute favourite fabrics). The pattern I used is by AnnAKa called "En Lappeløper" (A Patchwork Runner)..... .....linen is not the easiest fabric to sew with, so Hanne had given me a tip - to iron some fine interfacing on the back, so it is not so slippery when you try to cut it. I used Vilene G405 (I normally use this for backing my fabric for stitchery projects). The batiks went together with the linen really well. One of my top tips when sewing with batiks is to use really sharp needles. I prefer Schmetz Microtex Sharp size 60 for this..... .....this runner is quilted very simply with straight lines - I used my Hera marker for this - and found JUST the right colour thread in my stash - Mettler quilting thread shade 820 - which matched the linen perfectly. I used some more batik for the applique. Recently I've used Bondaweb (bought by the metre) for this, and I'm really pleased with it. Now for the machine applique..... .....finally finished - En Lappeløper quilted, appliqued (Mettler quilting thread shade 618, again found in my stash!!) and bound (hei hei Eva - I used your method of binding again!!)..... .....this is going to look great on my dining table - I am really pleased with it - and have enough linen left over for another one!! Now, where did I put that GREEN batik fabric?? I've finished the machine-applique on these placemats, and the binding is on (hei hei Eva - I used the "Eva method" tor this!!), and they are ready to use..... .....Hanne puts some lovely kits together for small projects like this..... .....I especially like the lace trim on these, as along with the muted colours, it gives it an aged feel..... .....I was up late last night getting these finished..... .....hmmm - wonder what my next project will be?? I bought this kit to make some placemats from Lappedilla while I was in Norway, and decided to make a start on it. It's an AnnAKa pattern, "Kaffekverna" - (translated means Coffee Grinders)...... .....firstly, there was lots of chainpiecing - my top tip is to use a medium shade of grey for the piecing, so you don't have to keep changing the thread colour when you are doing lots of projects..... .....then there was lots of machine quilting on these, and decorating the placemats with a strip of lace - another top tip is to dab a tiny drop or two of Roxanne's Basting Glue onto the back of the lace and lay it on the top of the placemat - it saves using pins and getting stabbed!!..... .....and I've been using this "Pellon" wadding for my tablerunners and bags - this one is fusible, and yet ANOTHER top tip is to iron the pellon to the wrong side of the backing fabric, then lay the runner etc on the top and either spray-baste with 505 spray, or pin-baste, using withever method you prefer (I tend to spray-baste small projects, but you do need a well-ventilated room). .....I'd bought a mini-iron from the Chilford Hall Quilt Show last November, and it was perfect for ironing on all the applique pieces..... .....I used a blanket stitch and my trusty walking foot. There is a lot of machine applique on these placemats, not something I'm brilliant at, but thought the only way to improve is to practise, practise, practise..... While I was busy posting pictures on my blog of my trip to Norway, I didn't actually show you what I had purchased!! Firstly, I bought a kit from Hanne's shop, Lappedilla, to make these 4 placemats - I'd already got this AnnAKa pattern called "Kaffekverna" (Coffee Grinders) - now I have the fabric there'll be no excuse in getting these made..... .....oh and another kit, this one is to make this beautiful bag "Rosa på shopping". This fabric pack includes some beautiful velvet - although I might use some leather handles that I've already got rather than make fabric ones..... .....and some linen for tablerunners, (I just LOVE this turquoise one), some fabric for a toilettry bag, some backing for stichery and some flexible adhesive stuff - (a bit like fast-2-fuse but not as thick) as it would be good for making covers for folders, etc and some clear plastic - AnnAKa uses this a lot in her patterns, so now I'll be all ready for a super crafting session :) ..... .....then there was the trip to Quiltegården in Trondheim, where I bought some linen for stitchery, and this beautiful necklace (I know, don't faint, but I actually bought something NOT fabric-related hehe) - Merete wore a beautiful necklace which I admired, and she told me they were available at Quiltegården and I couldn't resist buying one..... .....oh, and this ribbon was from the haberdashery store in Otta..... .....and this is for my Norwegian breakfasts - some brown cheese - if you haven't tasted this, then you MUST - it's delicious - and some crisp breads, and something that I add to my waffle mixture - don't really know what this is in English, all I do know is that it smells very VERY strong - and some Norwegian chocolate - yummy!! (sorry - no picture of the Norwegian chocolate - I've already eaten it!!) On Thursday evening we travelled by train from Otta to Trondheim. Here we changed to the night train and travelled on to Bodø. This shows our sleeping cabin - it was very cosy :) Once we arrived in Bodø we were going to stay with my friend Hanne, who has a fabulous quiltshop, Lappedilla. We were staying with Hanne for a few days while we were on a quilting course with Ann A. Kanstad Johansen (AnnAKa), a Norwegian designer. Here is Hanne, welcoming us into her shop, filled with an array of fabrics and threads and patterns and buttons. Eva and me had a wonderful afternoon, admiring lots of quilting supplies and fabrics that we needed :) .....Hanne has some lovely displays of bags and runners and cushions and it is very inspiring - I bought a kit for a bag that I will show you a picture of later on, and some nice linen for a runner and some buttons..... .....more beautiful fabrics, made into a small make-up bag..... .....and I was lucky enough to meet Merete, a longarm quilter, who was also on the course with AnnAKa. I have followed Merete's blog for a long time, so was extremely excited to meet her, and could admire her beautiful work. |
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July 2023
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