More practice and sampler for a new quilt!

Nice weather every day this week!  I hope it is the beginning of the summer in The Netherlands finally! It has been cold!


I finished a few things this week.

1.My first inchies.
I want to make inchies in every color of the rainbow and than make something funny for my granddaughter.
I started with no idea what to do. What can you do with a inch? A lot when I look at inchies on the Internet. I was busy all afternoon with practice quilting on my purple samplers and thought why not micro quilting on a micro quilt? So did: McTavish, stipling, paisley and a wavy raster. It was fun to do!But it is more fun when my Husqvarna finally learns how to do a decent satin stitch!

 

 2. I have two big pieces (90 inch x 95 inch) of purple and violet Egyptian cotton. I bought it on sale together with four smaller pieces (35 inch x 45 inch) to make practice samplers. The smaller pieces I already used for are already samplers and a my 'Look' wall hanging. 
I always find it difficult to cut a big piece in smaller pieces, but I cut four sampler place mats for my stock of presents.

The color of the place mats is purple not blue. I do not get the color right with my IPhone camera.

Another try for SewCalGal free motion quilting challenge 2012 (bonus 2). I did this on a smaller scale  before. For this challenge you need a picture with a strong, obvious pattern and a sandwich. I just draw the pattern on the sampler. I will quilt another one and trace the pattern. Just see the difference and to make a pair.

When I want to relax I quilt feathers, just free motion:

I just gave these two placemats to my sister in law, she was very happy with them.
The pattern of next piece is a  feather of the sketchbook of Luann Kessi  on Pinterest. She has many beautiful feathers and other patterns. I want to try one of her here lovely feathers. I  think the scale of the petals is wrong and the yellow thread I used for the hyper quilting is a bad choice as well. So I do not give this away and put it on my  my pile of rejected place mats. I use this pile to iron seams!
I like the feather in the spine. I will try this feather and other feathers of Luann on a smaller scale.

3. A new idea for a quilt with micro-quilting: Look #2: At the beach

I want to sew another 'Look' quilt with micro quilting. For me a 'Look' whole cloth is a wall hanging with a lot to discover when you look close to the quilt. Like my first  This time I want to sew the beach with the sea and sky. Shells on the beach, fish in the sea and birds in the sky. Of course with a few funny things: a jumping dolphin, a shark fin, c a crab crawling .....
I started with a sampler this week. Trying to learn quilting shells and fillers with very tiny shells. In the Netherlands we do not have stones on the beach, so no pebbling on my beach quilt.
I gathered a lot of shells on Pinterest and draw a lot of them in my sketchbook. My husband will see me drawing a lot next weeks. I want to do some fantasy shells as well.
I tried the first shells and micro fillers on a first sampler. I had to make some other samplers to find the strong shells and patterns for the quilt I want to make.:

A lot to improve! The strongest patterns I will use for Look II: At the beach
A will change my method of binding. This is not OK!

And there is still my list with wips and ufo's. I have add the Look II: At the beach quilt Next week I must  finish another thing on the list. I think one of the play quilts, because in a few weeks it is the birthday of our two granddaughters.

My quiult WIP's for next week:

1. Posting the Giraffe pattern.
2. Look #2: At the beach
3. A doll quilt for my granddaughter Salijn.
4. I already pieced the top of two ladders and snakes play quilts for my granddaughters. I want to applique the snakes, ladders and numbers. Also two big dices. The play quilts must be ready before their birthdays in Augustus and September.
5. Two more red place mats for my daughter in law. So I can give it to her the next time we go to see them.
6. The fabrics for two more Balloon baby quilts are cut weeks ago. This week one finish. The one I will give to my youngest daughter when she finally can tell me she is pregnant. 

Enough to do

Keep quilting!

Maartje Quilting in Amsterdam