My first appliqué quilt was for the very first Road to Oklahoma Shop Hop quilt twelve years ago. I had never appliquéd by hand or by machine and I was very intimidated. Once I got the courage to start I was hooked on it. I made the quilt in the raw edge appliqué method. I had decided to give the needle turn technique a try when I saw my friend Saralin’s beautiful work but I quickly realized it was not for me, not because I didn’t enjoy handwork, I do, but mine didn’t look a bit like my friends.
Since that first quilt I am no longer afraid of appliqué however, I do not usually take on something as large as the Ms. MacDonald’s quilt.
At fall market Ms. MacDonald’s farm quilt was my very favorite quilt there. Of course I loved the country theme but the thing that brought it alive for me was using the bright fabrics on these fun loving animals. Before I go any further I have to make a disclaimer, the same one the artist who designed this quilt says in her pattern, “this quilt is not for beginners”. It does take time to decide what fabrics you want to go where. I chose a large palette of possibilities then started laying them out. I did not use all the fabrics I took to my studio to audition but I did include them in the quilt block kits so the maker of this quilt could chose something they might like better than what I decided on. The first block took me a long time but the next ones are coming along much more quickly. On the first block I didn’t have the confidence in choosing fabrics a bit off from the actual quilt. Once I loosened up and used my creativity it went much faster and was much more fun for me. I am looking forward to working on the rest of them soon.
I recently had a new flooring put down in my studio and am anxiously waiting to get my furniture back in so I can work on the farm animals. My husband thinks I need to put down the baseboards before I start moving back in, silly guy! I guess that means no more sewing until my carpentry work is done and I am the carpenter. Last night I got my old baseboards that have been stored in my barn for over 15 years, cleaned them up and will start staining on Wednesday. One thing about baseboard that is difficult for most people is the mitered corners. I am hoping that my quilting experience will help me make this part of the job easy. I will let you know the outcome. Smiles to you, Randa
Since that first quilt I am no longer afraid of appliqué however, I do not usually take on something as large as the Ms. MacDonald’s quilt.
At fall market Ms. MacDonald’s farm quilt was my very favorite quilt there. Of course I loved the country theme but the thing that brought it alive for me was using the bright fabrics on these fun loving animals. Before I go any further I have to make a disclaimer, the same one the artist who designed this quilt says in her pattern, “this quilt is not for beginners”. It does take time to decide what fabrics you want to go where. I chose a large palette of possibilities then started laying them out. I did not use all the fabrics I took to my studio to audition but I did include them in the quilt block kits so the maker of this quilt could chose something they might like better than what I decided on. The first block took me a long time but the next ones are coming along much more quickly. On the first block I didn’t have the confidence in choosing fabrics a bit off from the actual quilt. Once I loosened up and used my creativity it went much faster and was much more fun for me. I am looking forward to working on the rest of them soon.
I recently had a new flooring put down in my studio and am anxiously waiting to get my furniture back in so I can work on the farm animals. My husband thinks I need to put down the baseboards before I start moving back in, silly guy! I guess that means no more sewing until my carpentry work is done and I am the carpenter. Last night I got my old baseboards that have been stored in my barn for over 15 years, cleaned them up and will start staining on Wednesday. One thing about baseboard that is difficult for most people is the mitered corners. I am hoping that my quilting experience will help me make this part of the job easy. I will let you know the outcome. Smiles to you, Randa
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