Jacobean Hummingbirds ... with Leather

I can't seem to make a quilt without leather these days. i might have an addiction problem.

The hummingbirds were appliqued and embroidered with the embroidery machine. The red/orange arc trim is leather.  I cut the leather pieces with this template.

It is about 43" square

Corner shot

A close up of some of the birds

I chose to only SID around the birds and then a quarter inch around that. the batting is really thick, so they stand out.

I used the leather needle and quilted down the leather trim first. First SID around the block, then stitch around the arcs, then another quilted arc (i used the template for that). 

Then i switched to a regular needle and quilted the rest, matching the thread color to the fabric.

Threads used were Glide Cobalt blue, red, and light blue for the top and So Fine lilac, Glide red, and Bottom Line medium blue for the back.

The backing is another piece i got from someone. It almost feels like upholstery, but not quite.

And that concludes my February to-do list....I managed to finish everything on the list.

Five Table Runners

When I quilted the Cat quilt (previous post), I loaded a long piece of backing and quilted all of these right after the Cat quilt. So, all have the same backing....a yardage the color of muslin....and all have the same thread colors....Glide Gold for the top and Bottom Line beige for the back.

Quilting everything together makes it all go faster....at least it seems that way. And I got all of these out of the to-be-quilted cabinet. At a retreat a couple years ago, I learned this method and went a little crazy in the practice of it. I'll probably never make any again, but I had fun making these.

Leaves...13 x 27 1/2"  Quilted with CC and Xs in the border.

Daisies   12 1/2 x 21" (tip to tip)  Quilted with feathers...i think they look better on the back than on the front

Floral, red and blue  12 1/2 x 28"   Quilted circles and spiderweb

Red and Black  12 1/2 x 28"   Quilted SID

And, Cats   12 1/2 x 21"   More leftover cats.  quilted SID and around cats, and some lines in the border.

OK...I am over table runners.  There were so many times I thought about just throwing these in the thrift store box....but i guess i'm glad i finished them. But, I never use table runners, so they will be sold.

Cats

Yesterday was quilting day.  This was the first project.  I had all these little cats from another project, so decided they needed to be used. It's been sitting in the to-be-quilted cabinet for a couple years.

It is wall hanging size...25x32"

Just adorable for a cat person.

The back is yardage that looks the same color as muslin. Quilting was just SID and some loops in the border.

Threads were Glide Gold for the front and Bottom Line beige for the back.

Halloween Village

Now that this has gone to live at Linda's house, i can show it. when i showed the pieced top in December, 2015, Linda said she really, really loved it....so i quilted it up and sent it to her.

It's about 38x46

This is some of the best embroidery design work that i've seen

I just mostly did SID around the blocks and a bit inside, to hold things together.

Back from the stash

Enjoy Linda. 

What to do next?

Selvage Dots

This is one of my all time favorite quilts...and I am keeping it.

I finished piecing it on August 14, 2014....and it took a Looong time to gather all those dots. i was pulling all my fabrics off the shelves and cutting off the dots. haha   i even went to friends' houses and cut their dots. i had soooo much fun putting this together.

It is 66x82....and a bit heavy due to all those seams and the selvages being sewn onto a muslin backing.This was actually my quilting path...the circles are a secondary design. I guess I could have picked a better block to show...that one is a bit crooked. haha

I put them horizontal and vertical

I love when the selvages are a different color...that doesn't happen too often.

And I really love when they use something besides dots...Texas might be my favorite.

The squares are always cool

The back is Christmas fabric from JoAnns, bought a couple bolts last year for half off...specifically for backings.  Once I quilted a couple rows, I noticed the circles. then I decided i needed to put something inside those circles....so I went back and just quilted around the corners. they were a bit thick in places, which is why i chose the pattern that i did, so as not to break a needle.  They look like donuts....or bagels...or vehicle tires....or whatever you want them to be. You notice I don't really care if every one is exactly the same. I'm not that picky.

Glide Cobalt for the top and Bottom Line medium blue for the bobbin. Various leftover bits of binding from other projects. I love that i can use up all those binding bits on my quilts....I have a whole basket full of them...separated by colors...and wrapped on empty spools. haha

Now...do I quilt something leather....something else for me...or something to sell.  decisions, decisions

Search and Find

In Judy's UFO challenge, she picked #9 for this month....this is mine. The top was all put together....for quite some time....I just needed to finish embroidering the words on a border and a half, put the borders on, and quilt it. This is my second, of 4, finished for the month.

I made 5" blocks...half black and half a picture. When piecing the blocks, I changed up the way they went; when piecing the top, I put them any which way.... but usually facing up the correct way. I used a really fat batting. The top started out as 68x80 and after quilting was 66x78...lost 2" each way with the fat batting. 

Machine embroidered all the words in the borders

I tried to make the words all the same height....but sometimes i forgot to change it....and sometimes it just didn't work.

Back is a muslin. This is a very quick and easy way to quilt squares.

Glide Key Lime for the top and Superior Highlights lime for the bobbin.

Binding was various leftover red and orange bindings from previous projects.

Leather Square in a Square

This one is for me!!   All squares are leather; black for the middles; various colors for the corners. Some leathers are thin, some thick; some are shiny; some flat; some are slick; some suede; some from jackets or coats; some from purses, all are quiltable. The top started at 58x66 and wound up at 57x65, losing an inch in each direction with the quilting. It is rather heavy.

It was pieced last month...it is my first, of 4, finishes that are on my list to do this month. Some swirls and some CC through the blocks and sashings....i like things that allow me to travel all across the row in one pass. I did SID around the blocks along the way, and SID around the black middle square.

I just love when I find great colors...like the lime green and baby blue. white is really hard to find.

The sashing and border is some pillow ticking that I got from a lady at a retreat last year. The side borders are darker than the sashing and top and bottom borders. I ran out of the light and just used the darker, too. It is rather thick...kind of upholstery weight.

The back is a piece of lizard upholstery fabric that i got from the same lady. I've been wondering where i was going to use that. Binding was leftover blacks and browns from other projects. Since this one is for me, I used up leftover pieces of batting. There is probably 20 pieces of batting in this quilt...various kinds. It all works for me. 

The back was just a Liiitttttlllle too small, so i added some black spiderweb fabric to the edges. haha

Threads I used were Glide Cork and So Fine Cream

Next up is #2, of 4 projects for the month.