Attempting to keep up with QALs

My Starburst QAL is coming along nicely. I have used up lots of my little scraps on the backing and I have managed to get it the ready to quilt stage! Yay. Now, how to quilt it! hmm...

Starburst QAL

It's the last week of techniques in the Something New Sampler! Where are the weeks going!! Scary.

There have been some fun techniques in the last couple of weeks - Trapunto, Cathedral Windows, Machine Appliqué and Pinless Curves. I have tried some of these techniques before with some degree of success :)

Trapunto
I attended a workshop some years ago with an English quilter, Phillipa Naylor. She has produced some wonderful work and won a variety of awards. She includes a lot of trapunto in her work and she uses the technique that M-R uses in her sampler block.

After the workshop I used the technique on this wall hanging. This photos is not the best, can't really see the effect the trapunto makes. I used a dark thread around the trapunto and my free machining was not the best back then so it is rather wobbly! But I completed it and learnt from it.

Wall hanging using trapunto

So I knew what I was in for with this piece. I altered the block slightly from the tutorial and ended up with this:

Block 6 - Trapunto

It isn't finished yet as I haven't tried the quilt-as-you-go method and decided I wasn't going to try that just now. So you don't get quite the full effect of the trapunto yet. I like this technique and the effect you get, so am looking forward to quilting this one :)

Pinless Curve

Alyssa at Pile O' fabric demonstrates making curves. I like the results (when it turns out good!) but not my most favourite thing to do! I struggled with getting it to lie flat and not puckered or bits caught up. Too much unpicking but I got there!!

Pinless Curves

I am half way through the machine appliqué block which is a pattern using clamshells. The Cathedral windows block is quite time consuming as I am doing some of it by hand. I have been taking it to all those places I sit waiting for things - to the ballet (4 year old class!), the skating rink, outside shops (waiting for them to open!).

Then I just have to decide how to set them out in a pattern! Obviously I needed some background fabric for that so just had to take a trip to the LQS! :)

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