Yikes!

Having only made three small quilts so far and then quilting them simply by hand, last night I decided to try my hand at machine quilting. I purchased my Bernina 1020 for a steal on Craigslist last year and it came with several feet. One as it turns out was a Bernina Walking foot! Initially I found the walking foot and the act of machine quilting very intimidating but by the end, I began to get the hang of it.

I wanted to start simply, here is my first try

For a first try I think that it came out quite well. How long should the stitch length be? I have looked online and not found a solid answer. I suppose that stitch length may just be a personal preference. I recently finished the top for my DQS8 and will need to consider quilting the top soon. Hopefully after a lot more practice I'll be ready to machine quilt it!

fun and more fun

Last week we took a much needed trip to Tahoe. With over four feet of fresh snow at lake level, we had an amazing time and fun was had by all. Here are some pics of our family fun! We can't wait to go back, I've already made plans to go up for ski week :)

I had hoped to get my doll quilt for the DQS8 to the point where I could hand quilt it while we were in Tahoe but it was not to be. I get the feeling that my quilt needs to be more exciting.......

Snow!

It is snowing like crazy so we're heading to Tahoe early tomorrow morning! I feel like a kid - I am soooo excited. I can't wait to spend some time relaxing with the family.

This is a pic from our last trip to Tahoe, I hope we have as much fine this time!

Have a great weekend..............

DQS8 Progressing

Yay! I have finally made progress on the mini quilt that I am working on for the Doll Quilt Swap 8. Here's what I have so far. We're going to Tahoe on Friday, if I can put the quilt together by then, maybe I can do some hand quilting while relaxing in the snow!

I made this wonky log cabin block thinking that I would add it to the back of the quilt, not sure....................

Project Doll Quilt

I have checked out my partners blog and so far these are the fabrics that I have come up with.

While trawling her blog I saw that she had recently used the orange and white checked fabric in a project so that seems a good place to start. The mushrooms definitely add some whimsy and fun and the bee fabrics are a favourite of mine. The flickr group for the Doll Quilt Swap is a wonderful way to find inspiration and receive some excellent advice/support. Being new to this swap I can use all of the help that I can get. I posted this pic of my fabric choices and possible quilt sketch - the feedback was great so I think that this may be it!

The back would just be a simple off white Kona Cotton -but a wonky log cabin square (tutorial found here) added in may be a fun surprise ..................

Doll Quilt Swap 8

I was looking through SwapDex the other day and saw the announcement for Doll Quilt Swap 8. Quilt making is still pretty new to me but I decided to go for it. As luck would have it they managed to squeeze me in so now the work/fun begins! Typically I just make what I like but now that I have been assigned a recipient I have to do my best to make quilt that fits her style and aesthetic too! I have already looked at her blog and seen a few of the doll quilts that she has made. I am really excited to get movin' and have even started a few sketches and picked out some fabric possibilities.

So I suppose that since I have been given a recipient, I myself have been assigned to someone as well. What do I like? I enjoy simple quilts in bold colours, japanese fabrics, kokka fabrics, mushrooms, not a big fan of 'traditional' quilting prints.

Here are some kokka fabrics at Purl Soho that I like.....

also loving these quilts over at Mr. Monkeysuit..............

Have a wonderful weekend!

In Gratitude,

What next?

I finally sat down to catch up on all of my favourite blogs and was totally inspired by this quilt over at Mr. Monkeysuit. Voila! I have found my first big project for 2010!

I have amassed quite a fabric stash but I think that some new fat quarters are called for. A trip to Peapod Fabrics in SF should do the trick. I found Peapod a few months back and it is such a gem. Located on 18th Avenue near Golden Gate Park,parking can be a pain but it is well worth the effort. A trip to the fabric shop can be really inspiring. Admiring the beautifully organised bolts of fabric and thumbing through the colourful fat quarter selection really gets my colour wheel spinning!

This should be an exciting project as it will be my first time trying my hand at free motion quilting - maybe I should start with a large doll quilt first :)

Wish me Luck!