What fun to say that the two pieces I entered in our local Skagit County Fair were well-received by a judge and won ribbons! here they are:
This miniature pineapple is about 10 inches square and foundation pieced on paper. I had always wanted to make a red and white quilt and to make a pineapple - so I thought that combining those two objectives was a great idea! Well, at 61 pieces per block...it took me a LONG time to complete it!!
The whites and reds are all scrappy. Foundation piecing on paper for pineapples is a sew-and-flip method, but you MUST sew them in the numbered order!
I used white Invisafil as the top thread and prewound Deco-Bob bobbins. Invisafil is a 100 weight poly and Deco-Bob is the 80 weight poly, both from Wonderfil. With these tiny pieces I wanted to use the thinnest thread possible to make sure I wasn't bulking up the seams with thread. I also quilted it, minimally, with the same combination. Judge loved it! Best of Class.
Here's my other winner:
This table runner pattern is "The Sun Bathers" by Letitia Hutchings. I took a little artistic license with the ends, because I liked a clean finish.
I had fun using lots of thread on this one!
Walruses are quilted and blanket stitched (by machine) with Invisafil (purple) and Bottom Line 60 weight poly (gold). The eyes are beads. The "whiskers" are a result of fussy cutting the batik fabric.
The water is quilted in ripples with a beautiful turquoise metallic thread from Hemmingworth.
Invisafil or Deco-Bob in the bobbin for all.
Finally, the tusks were the most fun - the fabric is a white Fairy Frost! So they sparkle a little. But wait, there's more! I laid down Razzle Dazzle #8 weight metallic thread (Superior) in the Icicles color around the edges of the tusks. Then couched it with a light zig zag stitch with white Invisafil. That gives the edges of the tusks a little dimensional ridge and more sparkle.
The judge mentioned the variety of thread in their comments on the piece and awarded it Reserve Best of Class!
I tell people all of the time - have fun with all these great threads!! If you're only using one thing, you're missing a lot of the creativity of quilting!
