WOW 12th June with Esther http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.com/

Colours for Esther’s new BOM 2013!!!!!?????  I have been looking at Georgian fabrics and clothes ever since Esther gave us the tip!!!!!!  These are the colours I have been drawn to so far, I love the soft yellow for the back ground but will I find it in my stash I don’t think so, but I will have to pull out all my boxes from the attic and see!!!!!! I did not find the soft pale yellow I want but I have found a soft dove grey green that may work as well, it is a silk Kimono and there is about 7 yards at 14″‘s  wide, I wonder if this will be enough fabric for my backing fabric??????  I now need to sit down and unpick the kimono, it is a heavy silk so I should be able to work with it and use cotton as my applique.

Georgian colours I have fallen in love with. This is a photo I took of a French crewel embroidered linen skirt 1790!!!!

Change of topic, last night I was watching Antique Road Show and they showed this stunning crazy quilt made around 1860 or before, there was also a tea-cosy; it was given to a servant who worked in a Big House by the mistress when she left her service due to been pregnant, after the child was born and adopted out the mother moved out to Australia to start a new life and she left the quilt with her family as she did not know what lay ahead of her.  A sad story.  I took some photo’s of the quilt.  They valued the quilt at about 15pounds and the tea-cosy the same?????? To me that seems soo sooooo low!!!!! Just look at all the work that has gone in to this quilt, it would be lovely to find out what happened to the lass who went to Australia???????

Mid 1860's Crazy quilt England York.

More of the same quilt.

So many small pieces of beautiful fabrics and so many hours of stitching.

The Tea-cosy

Close up of Tea-cosy

During the week-end I worked at preparing a quilt for tagging, this is the first quilt top I have worked on in my new sewing room area. This is for a special friend; she sent me a beautiful salmon silk sateen  panel for me to cut up for my patchwork after her last visit, her mum brought it many many many years ago when she visited China but never did any thing with it and my friend ended up with it when her mum died. I could not bring my self to cut in to it, it is exquisite even though it has some tiny moth holes in it,  I’m glad I never cut in to it as it is now going back to her and she will have this memory of her mum on her bed.

Silk sateen panel I'm using for the backing of the quilt to be?????

I used some iron on webbing on some fine silk and then ironed this on to the back of the silk panel where the moth holes were, it has not made the silk panel stiff as the silk and the webbing I used are both very fine.

Silk patch covering moth holes

I’m using an old white board for my table 2metres by 1 1/4 metres which is resting on a small table. I use Paper clamps to hold the fabric and wadding in place.

Ready for the quilt top to be added.

Ready for tagging then machine quilted!!!!!! All clamped to the white board. I have just enough room to move right around the table.

I had to completely rearrange on sewing room from the first lay out as I just could not fit every thing in my first draft, My 1st must is to be able to move around the floor on a rolling chair from sewing machine to ironing board to draft table, plus to the window so I can sit and do any unpicking besides it or hand sewing and look out at the rain forest and sit by the big open window.

I have a sewing machine either side of the large window, I have 3 sewing machine set up, one with grey thread one white and one black it is WONDERFUL!!!!!!! If you zoom in to this photo you can see the kimono on the back wall I will use for my back ground in Esther's new BOM.

On the back wall I have The Kiss this is my quilting inspiration, in real life they look like they are wearing patchwork cloaks they are unbelievable he used lots of silver and gold sheets.

My ironing board can be placed beside the table and lowered to make it an extra 18' wider if I want extra width.

I still have weeks of fabric to sort out and put some where handy, NO books are to go in there as I just DON’T have the space.

Elaine these photos are for you???? some Chinese embroideries I have, they are not that old or that good but the colours are beautiful, they were given to me framed but I have toiled with he thought of adding them in to a quilt one day!!!!!!!!  Thanks so much for sharing your embroidery lessons on Esther’s WOW last week.

All in satin stitch, Opps one of the frames is upside down LOL.

Close up silk thread on silk fabric.

Stunning colours

Incredible colour bleeding all satin stitch

Photos are not so clear as these embroiders are behind glass.

I have managed to quilt several windows during the week but have not had enough time for any new pockets.

It will roughly be 1 3/4 metres by 1 1/4 metres when finished.

I just noticed my camera is reading 2006!!!!! I really must reset it to 2013 LOL. I’m off to the beach in 8 hrs so I had better go to bed!!!!! and hopefully will remember to take some photo’s and will update when I come home in the after-noon.

Update 2pmJust managed to take a photo of the Kimono out side in between showers!!!!!! to give you more idea of the true colour, of course it needs ironing as you can see the light shows all the crease marks too LOL.

Fabric I'm considering to use as my back ground fabric for Esther 18 month BOM this year.

Update 6pmI just picked up this beautiful Ulysses butterfly wing in the drive way, I wonder what happened to the rest of the poor thing. Nature can be cruel at times.

An unbelievable electric blue with black, it reflects light like silk does; in flight is is magical.

Cheers Glenda