Tuesday, January 15, 2008

TIF January, Finished!

This month's challenge took half the month!

But I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. Here is what I accomplished:

--My first time using one of my own printed floral letters as the centerpiece to a small quilt was encouraging.
--I wanted to "tune up" my traditional stitching, while trying out Joan Waldman's book.
--I experimented with different ways to "mark" my fabrics to get better looking stitching.
--I wanted to try out the Kreinik threads, which I found delightful to work with. The metallics obviated the need for beads in many ways, too...a pleasant discovery.
--My interest in using waste canvas for lettering has only grown. I still need a lot more experience matching the proper threads to the size of canvas used, however.

Here is my completed project, measuring 16" X 16". I will stretch it over foam core after I take it down to my annual quilt retreat for show and tell at the end of this month.

The texture of the lace, braided cord, and rick rack is better suited to this piece than that plain old white inner border, don't you think?

Now that I am in between projects I HAVE to clean up this sewing room!

One other note....the $100,000 Quilting Challenge for 2007 was won by Sharon Schamber, whose same quilt "Scarlett Serenade", was also a Best of Show winner in Houston a few years back.
That's two years in a row this contest has been won by the machine quilting category. So come on all you crazy quilters...this is the year to step up to the plate!
And thanks to all of you who voted for "Crazy for Flowers". I truly appreciate it!

27 comments :

Marty52 said...

Oh, yes... the new inner border is much better than plain white... it gives it a great transition between the busy outer border and the serene inner panel. Cool... it will be great for Nora!!

Paddy's Daughter said...

What a lovely CQ block. All the TIF work is so different - isn't it great? Like your little tutorial about marking where you will stitch, and shall remember it for the future. Thanks for visiting!

Anonymous said...

This looks fabulous - I love all the green! How did you make the flowered letters? The N looks great.

Angela said...

Your finished piece is beautiful!

Stephanie said...

Allie, this is just amazing. I LOVE the colors!I can't believe you finished it so quickly!

Vicki W said...

Allie, it's beautiful! This is going to make my project look very lame in comparison! LOL!

Debra Dixon said...

Your inner border looks perfect. I agree with Marty that it is a nice transition now. Very well done!

Unknown said...

you wuz robbed!!!!!!!!! no shopping spree waaaahhhh!!!!!!!!!
seester

Thelma said...

What a beautiful block Allie! Love what you done with the challenge.

Cheryl said...

What a wonderful tribute to Nora. I love the design and particularly the flower initial. You once again have taken crazy quilting to the next level.
Thanks for the examples of ways to mark seam treatments. I have to try the graph paper!

Barbara C said...

Beautiful! I love the lace in the inner border.

verobirdie said...

What a beautiful block! Nora will love it. The inner border is much more fun than the white space, you are right.
Wonder what you will come with for next month§

Threadspider said...

The lace is a lovely addition-perfect way to camouflage the white border.I love the work and I enjoyed the summary of what you have achieved in this piece too.Did you set those goals first or reflect on the achievement after? Or both?

atet said...

Oh yeah, the lace, ric rac and cording work so well on the inner border. Love this piece.

Karrin Hurd said...

It is absolutely beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for doing this lovely tribute to Nora. She is a wonderful person to know both online and in person.

Pamela Kellogg said...

Absolutely stunning! As are all your projects!

I love the lace border. A nice, soft finish.

As for thread size and Waste Canvas stitch count, my Seam Treatment book will cover that and should help to clear up that mystery.

As for the the Kreinik metallics eliminating the need for beads? I had to laugh Allie! For me, there's always a need for beads. Sewing those little do-dads on is one of my favorite parts of Cqing!

Again Allison, your work is amazing!

Mary Corbet said...

OH WOW. Gorgeous end results!! I love the colors and the stitching... !

Anonymous said...

Simply Well Done!

JoWynn Johns said...

Stunning! Once again I am blown away by your magnificent work. And I so enjoyed watching the process of creating it.

Marja. said...

this is great work!!

Gail said...

Ditto to all that has already been said, I just wanted add my Wow to the mix. Very nicely done.

Micki said...

Beautiful piece. Love the colors. You always seem to know just the right stitches to use on your pieces to make them come alive.
Where can I find waste canvas?

Rian said...

Hi Allie, I'm late to the party, but wow, what a gorgeous piece! And you learned so much along the way! The new inner border really made a huge difference. Rock on!

Pat Winter Gatherings said...

Allie, it is beautiful as I knew it would be. Nora will enjoy it so much. Now I can't wait to dig out the floral letters you gave me and play.

Laura said...

Gorgeous! I'm not very familiar with the world of contemporary crazy quilting, and joining this challenge has been quite the introduction. I love it! And I'm impressed that you managed to incorporate both the colors and the concept in one project.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful piece of work - thank you for sharing it with us.