Monday, August 2, 2010

SUCH a lovely day!!!

My new friend Clair has a very indulgent husband. She has pretty much taken over EVERY room in their house with her fabric (puts my stash to SHAME), sewing machines, general crafting paraphernalia and her whopping big industrial quilting machine ....


Clair very kindly invited me over to have a play on her machine and today was the big day.
But before I tell you about the actual quilty bit ... just have a look at the view from Clair's machine. She lives in the most gorgeous leafy part of Melbourne (even if it is a HUGE shlep from my place).

So anyway, I started with a bit of a practice which was an excellent idea because this is seriously different to quilting on a domestic machine. Takes a bit of time to get the feel of it.

Here's my practice piece:



And here I am at the machine trying to look like I know what I'm doing:


(Can you see Clair's husband Kevin in the background? He spent his whole work day putting up with the whir of the machine which is pretty loud. He really is a good'un).

This is the actual quilt I worked on today:


It's Maddie's quilt and I think she'll really like it once it is all bound and finished.

I quilted it with big loopy flowers a-la Oh Frannson but with extra curly swirly bits in between the flowers.

I haven't taken a good shot of the actual quilting yet (it's night time now and the light is impossible) so I'll get it all bound and finished then show off my new found skills.

Thanks again Clair for a fabulous day!! You are a terrific teacher too!!!


Andi :-)

16 comments:

Kirsty said...

Absolutely ace Andi. That's what it's all about. Sharing skills & learning new things from other people. Power to you & to your lovely mate Clair (& Kevin too by the sound of things).

Unknown said...

Sounds like you did have a really nice day. Your practice piece is wonderful!! Looking forward to seeing the whole thing!

Lynne (Lily's Quilts) said...

Oooh that looks like fun - I need a friend with an indulgent husband ... or maybe I need an indulgent husband.

CurlyPops said...

Wow, I've never seen one of those working in real life. What an amazing adventure!

bec said...

So jealous!!

Clair said...

It was great fun for me too! Cake was gooood!

Kim Brackett said...

If that's your practice piece, your quilt must look wonderful!

andrea creates said...

wow-that looks like fun!i've never used one of those, as i don't make big quilts(yet).are they easy to use?

Tania said...

Now try telling me you'll happily snuggle up to several years of handwork for every quilt?! That glare of light above Kevin's head? Halo.

Bellgirl said...

Cool! Does Clair live in Lilydale, by any chance, and is she Rick's mum?

Jo (sparkly green knickers) said...

Lucky you! And I love the quilt top you made for the day ;)

One Flew Over said...

How lovely is Clair (and Kevin)! It looks luke you had such a fun and productive time!

Willow Grove - Kez said...

What a wonderful day you had. You have quilted real nicely

Danielle said...

wow Andi - can't wait to see the finished quilt and lots of close-ups please

meli B said...

That looks like serious fun, lucky lady

Adele said...

Ahhh, how fantastic!! Great photo of your gorgeous smiley faces.