Rose of Sharon Quilt

Firstly I want to show you this picture of the Rose of Sharon quilt my sister Theresa and I worked on for her daughter Adele. It's a double bed size completed in 1994.

As I wrote previously, I'm now working on a black and white one, a smaller version, for my sofa, a square one with 4 blocks each side.

After I posted about the problems I was having with the grey fabric, I read Anne's post about using freezer paper for applique I thought that it looked like a much better way so I gave it go.

If your read her post the shape is first cut out of freezer paper this is then ironed onto the right side of the fabric, however....I didn't have any freezer paper but the outline of each shape was already drawn on the back of each of the cotton pieces so I thought I would give it a go with the glue

you can see the coloured glue along the snipped edge up to the line.

edge folded over with the use of a cocktail stick

the finished piece already to sew on.

This worked fine I thought but I decided to get the freezer paper to try it out on the bigger bits to see if it would give me a smother rounded edge and to try it on the grey fabric.

The freezer paper method worked great on the cotton fabric but not the grey, it wouldn't stick with the glue, the folded cut edges kept jumping back up and it also melts too easy with the iron....as I found out on my trial piece, so after about 30 mins trying to get the edges to stay stuck under, I melted the whole lot with the iron!!!! grrrr.....I didn't keep, I popped it in the bin, decided not to let it annoy..... it sorry no pic.

However I'm still delighted to use this new method for all the other pieces and have found the sewing machine method of backing the grey pieces and turning right sides out is the best way forward here.

I have now competed the first two blocks for the second side.
The glue method gives a much neater finish and I find the pieces a lot easier and quicker to stitch on.

Not the best picture I have to say but I took it this evening in artificial light.

I'll get a better picture tomorrow of these and all the other 4 completed for the other side of the quilt.

W I P Black & White Quilt

 I started this quilt in February, but haven't taken any pictures till today.

My sister Theresa bought me a beautiful stack of black and white FQs for my birthday Last year, to make a quilt for myself. She saw me admire the fabric bundle at the creative stitches show and bought me it.

It has taken me so long to start it because I just couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do with it.

A few years ago when I used to live in the country Theresa and I lived next door to each other in farm cottages. We spent many a winter evening by coal fires stitching and sharing ideas and fabrics.

One birthday she bought me this book

I have made and re made many of the lovely projects in this book and it has remained one of my favourites

We both worked on this quilt pattern from the book for her Daughter Adele.

A beautiful Rose of Sharon Quilt

It was a lovely pattern to work with, all hand appliqued.

There is a little bit about the original quilts (there were 4 of them)

all made by a mother and her sister for her 4 daughters.

If you click on this picture you can read it.

It was only quite recently when Theresa was mending the quilt for Adele that I remembered how I had enjoyed working on it so much and it was later on that evening that it struck me how beautiful this quilt would look with the black and white prints.

I couldn't wait to get started

so far I have completed 3 blocks the quilt will have 4 blocks on each side. the centre circle is black velvet and I plan to get more velvet for the sashing and borders.

These are the rest of the blocks all cut out and ready to stitch.

Each square measures 17" the finished quilt size will be about 48"square.

 I will try to get a picture to show you, of the quilt we worked on together for Adele.