Wednesday 9 May 2012

Chameleons, red herrings and quilting

If you've read anything of my blog, you know I like paper piecing. Okay, like is an understatement. ;) There are just so many cute patterns around, it's really hard to resist.

So when ShapeMoth mentioned on her blog that she had released her Carl the Chameleon pattern... well I seriously could not resist. I bought it. And I've already made it.

Is that not the cutest chameleon ever? It reminds me of Pascal from the movie Tangled. The pattern was easy to make and came together fairly quickly.

While on the topic of paper piecing... I did add one more block to my fake Herringbone block collection - I'm calling them Red Herrings. Like herringbone, but not. So here's a red red herring.


And here they are looking happy together so far. Well they make me happy anyways. Can't wait to get more of these put together!


So talking progress. I actually have some big progress to report! I have finished quilting the XOXO quilt! It's possible you may be hearing the Hallelujah chorus right now - at least I am since snipping that last thread. I debated whether I had quilted it enough, but I really like simple quilting. So I went with a basic outline of the diamonds, then I decided to add a touch of fancypants quilting in the centres. I FMQ'd some flowers. But I totally cheated.

Scuse the creases - that's what happens when you shove a queen size quilt through a regular size sewing machine!
Jane from QCA pinned a tutorial on FMQing motifs and I decided to try it out. Let me tell you, it worked brilliantly.  I found a flower motif I liked, printed it out. Lined it up with a stack of paper and traced over the lines with the darning foot (no thread). That transfers your design in dot form to all the paper squares. It also gives you an idea of what it's like to quilt the design. Then all I had to do was pin the paper in place, and FMQ my little heart out.


I was particularly pleased when one of the flowers I did on the front lined up beautifully on the back. look at this - almost centred in my Circle of Geese block!


I doubt I could have done that if I had tried! It's possible I did a happy dance and cheered when I saw this. It's all possible I got some really weird looks from Lulu who is also possibly wondering how on earth she could be related to this crazy woman. One day she'll understand. ;)

So now all that remains is to trim it up (that sounds way easier than I think it is - tips welcome!) and then to bind it. Oh and I still need to pick all the paper out of the flowers too. Saving that to do tonight while I watch Offspring.

Here's hoping to have a big Queen Size finish soon! :) It is Mother's Day this weekend, wonder if I can blitz through this in time to wrap it for my mum! Wish me luck!

Linking up with WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced :)



19 comments:

  1. Indeed that is the cutest chameleon ever! Go you, finishing up your quilting - that is a great tip for FMQ'ing - it looks like it worked really well.

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  2. The Chameleon is fantastic!! Love your red herrings, they all look gorgeous together.

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  3. Great job finishing your quilting- phew! Love the wee flowers and very impressed how well you lined that one up...
    As for the chameleon- love it!

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  4. I love your chameleon- he is just darling.... really love the herringbone blocks too- super cute!

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  5. Carl is adorable! And what a great name for the herringbone blocks! Good luck getting your quilt bound! I always feel that takes forever!

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  6. It's true...that chameleon seems irresistible. The herringbone blocks look stunning together! And I love the trick of transferring a simple flower pattern to paper. I'll try that very soon!

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  7. Aah! that strange sound I heard was you, my sympathies are with Lulu entirely :)

    Your Red Herring blocks are really lovely, they will make a great quilt.

    Wonderful FM quilting too, great tip about the flowers I will definitely try that sometime soon.

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  8. Carl is fabulous! I love the herringbone blocks, they would make me smile too!!

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  9. Your fake herringbone blocks look great altogether, so colourful and pretty :o)

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  10. Carl is so cute! The herringbone blocks look awesome. I love the vibrant colors!

    I really want to try that motif technique you used, it looks great! I've been too scared to try anything except straight lines, but that technique seems doable!

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  11. Sounds like a cool technique. Love the chameleon.

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  13. I love your chameleon block, it's fabulous.The fake herringbone blocks look great, can't wait to see them all together.

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  14. Love the chameleon and the herring blocks

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  15. The chameleon is so cute! Love the red herring blocks. So glad to hear you finished the quilting. I'll be hoping to see the big reveal soon =D

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  16. Thumbs up for Carl - he is amazing!!! Stopping by frmo Frshly Pieced - Amy from www.craftyshenanigans.blogspot.co.uk

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  17. Oh my goodness, that little chameleon is the cutest thing ever!! What a fabulous job!!!

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  18. Kristy...I am the one singing the Hallelujah Chorus for you! despite having kiddies full time - you have managed to do a mountain-load of sewing....have you got a mountain-load of washing up to do then? I am in love with that there chameleon - my favourite lizards.

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  19. Thanks so much for sharing your delightful chameleon! Such a cool creature, the color possibilities are endless! All that paper piecing looks great. I especially like the geese circle. Happy fabric choices too!

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