There is a Title for Hockey Garden part 7

The quilt is finished. The label is sewn on the back, the binding is stitched and the hanging strip at the top of the back edge is in place. I have nothing more to say about it, except it was fun.

End of the Hockey Season by Ann Fahl

You may read my final statement about this quilt on my website. Enjoy.

Ann Fahl

How Do You Quilt a Hockey Bag? part 6

The time has come to begin all the detailed quilting of my hockey quilt.  I've spent two days outlining all the shapes with monofilament thread. I outline everything using monofilament on top and in the bobbin, with a size 10 titanium topstitch needle. This stabilizes the entire quilt, and reduces the amount of shifting of the fabrics on the wool batting.

Now that the outlining is done,  I can play with the beautiful threads and doodle in the areas between the garden elements. But back to the question; how do you quilt a hockey bag?  This question has never come up before, so I went to my notebook full of quilting ideas and found one idea that would work.

This is the sketch in my quilting design notebook that I chose for the hockey bag.

I keep a notebook (3 ring binder) full of quilting ideas.  So when I need an idea I go to this resource.  This is the sketch of an idea that appealed to me. I used a rich variegated blue thread and it looks great.

I chose a rich blue variegated thread for the quilting on the bag.

Now, how do I quilt a hockey skate?  There is very little space to fill, so I chose a shiny gray thread and began a spiral where the ankle bone pushes out the side of the skate.  I just detailed the rest.

The hockey skate has been embroidered and quilted.

It's time for the sky. So I'm just going to play a little keeping the scale of the curls, coils and loops small.  There is very little space between the hockey sticks and other items to do much quilting.  I chose 2 variegated blue threads to use. The darker for the center and the lighter one for the 2 sides.

Thread choices for quilting the sky.

Here is a closeup of how the coneflowers are detailed and stitched.

Now all that's left is the  grass on the lower edge and the border.  Hmmmm what will I use for the binding? The binding is almost sewn on, here's a peek at how it will look.

Here's a look at the binding and the midnight variegated thread used for quilting the border.

 So it's almost done.  I already have an idea for my next quilt.

Ann Fahl

Digging up History

We had the main level of our house painted.  In the process, all the quilts, pictures and paintings are taken down; and everything gets moved.  After the painters left, I like to change the placement of all the artwork in the house.  Just by chance I found a very old quilt that I made for a gift for my husband in 1984.  It's amazing what you find when you have to clean.

Hand Prints for Daddy (c) 1984 hand appliqued and quilted by Ann Fahl

This is such a charming little piece, that I pulled it out and laid it on my sewing table.  It just needed a little more hand quilting around the inner border and would hang better.  So I hand quilted last night for the first time in years.  This is now hanging on a wall in my living room so my husband and I can enjoy it each day.

It's hard to believe that my grown sons were once this small. Now they are tall young men, on their own, with their own careers.  It's good to look back in your history and at your early work.  As you can tell it isn't square.  I didn't know anything about blocking my quilts at the time.  But I did realize the importance of signing my quilt.

Signature on the lower right corner

It is good to see that I have greatly improved my skills over the years. Machine quilting has totally changed the world of quilting, it enhances the surface so much more than a lightly hand quilting one like this.

Go digging in your closet and look at the quilts you made in your first years. You'll be amazed at your progress!

Ann Fahl

Announcing Applique Ann's Way!

Ann's newest booklet, April 2013

At last the booklet on 6 ways to applique has become a reality.  It is based on my full day workshop, but there was never enough time to cover 6 methods during the class.  So I've put them all together in one booklet, 36 pages with a color cover. I began writing it this past summer, and last month it went to the proof reader, my friend Jayne, because she is great at making my directions simpler and clearer.

Oreo is helping to send out the first promotional copies.

 I cover both traditional and untraditional machine methods, so whether you are a beginner or experienced, you will find something helpful here. If you follow this blog, you know I love thread work of all types, applique is just one method of embellishing fused shapes on a quilt top.  I can never restrict myself to just one technique in a quilt, I really like to mix up embroidery and applique.  This booklet only includes applique methods and I've tried to discuss each one in depth, including tips, refinements and problem solving.

Closeup of Summer Sanctuary, quilt by Ann Fahl

The quilt that started it all was Summer Sanctuary. Check out the coleus leaves, they are made with the Florentine Edge Applique technique discussed in the booklet. This will later be the subject of an article for the American Quilter Magazine next fall.

Read more about this booklet on my website.

Give applique a try.

Barb Harms has posted a review. 
A  Bit of Yellow has posted a review.

Ann Fahl