Sorry, sorry, yet more puns…
So, the back of the Anemone quilt. I’m not going to straighten out the edge and give this quilt a conventional binding. I have plenty of straight edged quilts. No, I’m going to face the ziggy zaggy edge with yet more hexies on the back. Lots more handwork to do…. Firstly, I have to make all the hexies for the facing. Then I’ll layer it with batting and backing and spray baste the layers together. I’ll trim out the excess of both backing and batting so it’s back a quarter inch from the edge of the outer hexies, and then I’ll lay down the facing on top. The facing strips will need to be assembled into long strips. I’ll starch and press the bejasus out of them, remove the papers and gently lay the strips on top of the backing and quickly pin them in place. I’ll need to whip stitch the outer edges of the quilt together, and finally, hem down the inner edges of the facing onto the backing.
The main backing is going to be this nice blue and white voile in the leaf and animal print. I’d originally bought it to make clothes, but I’m a voile convert for a quilt backing because it feels so soft and lovely when it’s quilted. The facing will combine the navy and white spot with the pink floral. I think this is a pretty combination, and will produce a reversible quilt where the back is just as pretty, if a lot less colourful!
I’ve decided what I’m doing for the quilting. It’ll be offset hexies, the same size, but overlapping the intersections, like a ghostly outline of a second quilt overlying this one, but slightly ‘slipped’. Hard to describe, but hopefully all will make sense once I can show some progress. I’ve decided on a medium-pale grey quilting thread, which will blend nicely into most of the colours and only show a bit on the black.
The original plan for this quilt included entering it in Mackay Show in June. The Show has been postponed to who knows when, so that’s not exactly a deadline any more. But one of the show criteria is that quilts need to feature a hanging pocket. Given that this won’t have a straight edge, I’m having to consider how it might be hung, and I’m thinking tabs along the top edge. Time enough to finalise that. So, quite a lot still to be done…
… in case you thought this baby was in the home stretch!
talltalesfromchiconia 
Flippin’ ‘eck, that sounds complicated. I’m sure that when I see what you have done I will understand, though. I really like the animal/plant fabric, although I always thought of voile as too light for such a task.
Nope. Put simply, you put batting and backing on the quilt as usual, then quilt, but then you lay an edging of hexies all round, whipstitch them round the outside edge and appliqué them on the inside edge. Voile is fine unless you’re going to give the quilt daily use, and it’s a fine weave, just softer and thinner than quilting cotton. The Hatbox quilt has a voile backing, and it feels *wonderful*.
agree with TSofH ….but then you say “nope”…I think a photo is going to help me/us 🙂
Once I get to a suitable point, I’ll be posting again to show exactly what I mean.
I’m liking what I hear …. can’t understand or even picture it in my head as it sounds super dooper complicated… but waiting very patiently to see how it unfolds…
Isn’t voice very ‘shifty’ to use ?? I know it’s super soft and lovely but won’t it be a pain to use ??
Voile not voice 🙄😁
Yes, got it!
🥰
Off to spotlight again as they glue is annoying me…/ keeps getting clogged and won’t spray 😑
I did warn you about the Birch spray baste… It gets very blobby and starts to spray in strings. Unless you’re talking about 505, which seems unlikely. You do have to clear the nozzle from time to time by holding the can upside down and giving it a squirt.
Where will I get the 505 from ??
Try Patchwork Passion, 59 Hotham St, Cranbourne or The Elegant Stitch, 27 View St, Hampton Park. Those two are your nearest specialist quilt shops. If you give them a ring first you should be able to find out if they stock 505 quilt basting spray.
You are the bestest human in my world 😍
After the Hub and the children and your parents and your friends….. Glad to help 🙂
🥰
No, voile clings to the batting nicely, better than regular cotton in fact. Don’t think of this as cheap, ultra-transparent voile, it’s good quality, dense-weave Japanese voile, somewhere between Tana lawn and quilting cotton.
Niceeeee
I agree with the Snail – flippin’ heck!! In theory I understand the process – but man the hours and hours of work ahead of you – not to mention the hours of thought that have gone into coming up with the plan. I thought it would look pretty jolly good with a straight edge – now I’m expecting my brain to explode!!
No, really, it’s not that bad! More hand sewing, but then this entire quilt has been hand sewn, what’s a little more? And the faced zigzag edge is so pretty. Take a look at the edge on my Worldwide Friends quilt as an example. I’m doing a simpler edge than that, but with a similar effect:
(https://talltalesfromchiconia.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/worldwide-friends-crossing-the-final-frontier)
Clearly a case of process over product focus. If you’re going to be “slow stitching” anyway, it might as well be on one project. And with date change you have the luxury of time for process.
I admit, I do love hand stitching. And I feel a strong resistance to attaching anything machine sewn. I’m not totally crazy, I’ll piece the backing on the sewing machine, but everything else…
Did you win a prize with that quilt then Kate? It looks really lovely, this one is even more beautiful though I think 🙂 I like the variation in colours in this one – it looks like a real flower garden! The edge will set the whole thing off spectacularly. It’s such a lot of work – don’t your hands get sore? You certainly are talented!
I did, I won Best in Show…
My hands do get sore if I go on too long, but I have some very good Aspirin & Arnica cream that works a treat on sore joints. I really don’t mind the amount of work so long as the finished result is good, and I really thing this one will be a bit spectacular when it’s done.
Congratulations! Absolutely fabullous!! I don’t suppose you can outdo ‘Best in Show’ but you can certainly rack up a few more wins 🙂
I don’t hope to, but it would be nice to get some kind of ribbon 🙂 The other quilt was much bigger, more work, more elaborate, etc. But first, there has to be a Show!
If anyone can carry this out, Kate, it is you! And I am sure that you will have lots to show us very soon. oxo
Oho, no pressure then! I have a lot of boring stitchery to do in order to attach the remaining side panels, then I need to make all the back facing border hexies, then I need to piece the backing, make the quilt sandwich… well, you get the idea. The trouble with having all that time available is that you don’t know what to work on next. I have this, ScrapHappy, the Parterre blocks, the next F2F blocks. And so on. I shall do a little cutting out and then treat myself to a couple of hours of reading!
That is going to be one cool quilt when you’re done! That voile is beautiful — loved the little “squillas and bun-buns!” I would enjoy making a big circle skirt or loose trousers out of that material. 🙂
My personal favourite is the dancing bear! I was going to make a loose summer dress, but this way I don’t have to buy any extra fabric for the quilt. I’ll see how much is left over; I may have enough for a top.
Lovely prints you’ve chosen for the back. It will be fun to see it when you’ve made a little progress – but no hurry!
I think maybe when I’ve sandwiched it and have made enough facing hexies to demonstrate a corner and bit of one side I’ll do another post to show what I’m talking about.
Isn’t it nice they gave you more time to figure it out! Now you get to play with it longer and be even more creative. Another silver lining to this mess.
Very kind of them indeed! I wonder if the Show will happen at all this year. Never mind, the longer the deadline, the more I can take my time with the hand quilting. I needn’t make wreckage of my wrists and fingers after all!
It does sound complex but that’s because the whole thing is ahead of you. Once you start showing us what you’ve done piece by piece, us lesser mortals might start to get our head round it 🤔
I love the voile but in my head I think of voile as being very floaty and somewhat sheer. Is it a lot finer than tana lawn for example?
As for hanging – I used a good method for hanging my hatbox quilt if you remember, one used by a quilt museum. I don’t know whether it will fit with the requirements of your show but here’s a reminder anyway in case you can use it. https://tinyurl.com/y8lh39zh
p.s. somebody asked the question about making holes in the wall when the wall doesn’t belong to you – for example at a show – and the removable 3M hooks (or similar) were used.
I’ve used Command hooks for the rods that hold up the two quilts above our bed. They’re totally up to the job!
The voile is not as fine as Tana lawn, but is a lot finer than, for example, shirting. It’s only slightly sheer, and is becoming a standard fabric weight for a lot of designers in addition to regular quilting weight because people love the feel. No, it’s not so hardwearing, but then I won’t be using this quilt daily or flinging it in the washing machine every few weeks, so I’m not too concerned.
Thank you so much for the hanging pocket reminder, Mackay show uses a permanent building for its quilt and handcraft exhibits and there’s a permanent system of hanging wires and partitions, so all I need to do is make sure the pocket is a certain diameter and allows for three hooks to a rod: one at either end and one in the middle.
Not sure I followed that, maybe with some pics and I might. It all sounds very pretty as well as very clever. Sad about the show though- maybe for next years?
We’ll see what happens 🙂
It is going to be gorgeous!
I do hope so; my mind’s eye agrees, I just hope I can execute it as I imagine it!
I’m sure you will – you have done so much quilting and have built up a huge level of skill.
So, is there a mitered corner for each point on each hexie that is on the edge of the quilt’s binding?
Fascinating, I applaud your determination.
Oh my word no! I’m nowhere near masochistic enough for that. No, the quilt is not bound at all. Each hexie at the edge is backed with another one, stitched edge to edge on the outside and appliquéd to the backing on the inside. For how this will look, take a look at my earlier Worldwide Friends quilt; this image is of the back:
(https://talltalesfromchiconia.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/screen-shot-2015-06-07-at-11-09-00-am.png)
-sigh of relief-
The photo looks fantastic…still a work requiring a huge amount of determination to finish IMHO! Can’t wait to see yours!
Very nice fabric but the way you are telling of how you’ll go about it is chinese for me 😀
It will make more sense once you see some pictures…
Can´t wait to see this quilt finished!
It has been nearly 4 years since I started it!