For a long while, I was stumped for ideas of what to make with these gorgeous fabrics. If you have ever seen them, and better still, handled them, you will know what I am talking about! These fabrics are shot cottons, and they have a lustre to them which comes from the different threads that are used for the warp and weft in the weaving process. They are also soft and drapey (is that a word?), which gives them a quality all their own.
In short, I wanted a SPECIAL project to use them in.
In 2010 I started working on it. Getting my inspiration from the quality of the fabrics themselves, I decided to focus on the theme of weaving, and played with my (then) EQ6. In the end I settled on a design reminiscent of a tartan:
I did not have any off-white Oakshott. I don't remember why, it may well be that the Oakshott range didn't include a suitable colour at the time. Anyway, I added a cream/white batik fabric to the mix for the "white" pieces, and that worked fine, too.
In March 2011 I started cutting, laying out the pieces carefully on
Sewing it all together wasn't too hard, though it required a clear head to keep the pieces in their correct order. But straight seams all the way, nesting the seams, iron at the ready - no problem.
Layering the quilt sandwich some time later, I started quilting. The quilt isn't huge, so I decided to hand quilt it, using quilting thread in pink, purple and wine to coordinate with the fabrics. I decided to want to emphasise the "weave" effect with my quilting, so I alternated the direction of my quilting lines in each fabric piece. I used straight lines and wavy ones for some playfulness, and for the lovely effect these quilting lines created on the shot cottons:
And then I became stuck!
The quilting took longer than imagined... There were sooo many threads to bury... There were other, newer projects on the horizon (yay)! I S.T.O.P.P.E.D.
Enter the Finishalong! In January 2016 I first decided to join in with the Finishalong, and this was on my list. And it remained on my list.
But I did get some little quilting done every quarter, until at the start of this quarter I realised there wasn't all that much more quilting required! Suddenly I was on a roll, and hey presto, it got DONE.
All quilting done, all threads tied off (how I dislike that part!), and binding in place. I used a faced binding for this one, because I did not want the binding to "frame" the weave effect. And I even wrote a tutorial for the Faced Binding:
So here it is:
Stats:
Name: Weave
Design: my own
Size: 48" x 48"
Fabrics: Oakshott cottons, off-white batik, patchwork print cotton (backing)
Pieced by machine, quilted by hand
Faced binding
Linking up at the 2017 Finishalong (listed on my Quarter 1 Finishalong list at number 2)
Sandra
![Rhonda's [Quilt] Ramblings](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_swltEo3spFZUtNGTWdxmJFUmXbmGEo442WUZ2ZvIgRhui7a3L0ql9wmhheWf2WE4ZiXCHqT0-C49koupgZ2kvzNthHiUDz2k9WXRjZlonvyExGwEOZtpH7k1BLUChoEuM1lDsH8c6aTJ_j6UbC3H6_H9MqHl4=s0-d)
