Kimono Quilt Finished!

This quilt went home today.  I really enjoyed myself on this kimono shaped quilt that belongs to Jerry.

Sit back and enjoy the show.  I used both new and older elements with the quilting:

another closeup:

here is my new koi with quilting around it:

And the cool lighting shot with the sun streaming in through the window.  Notice my favorite asian flower motif, too:

I hope you have enjoyed this quilt.    Jerry did a fabulous job on the quilt construction.  A simple, yet effective use of the focus panel and fabric.

Regards, Carla

Postscript:  This free pattern is no longer available, so I drew this up to assist quilters wanting to make one.  Use the pictures to fine tune my sketched pattern.  Hope this help!

Handmade Holiday Gifts

This month, I’ve decided to write some more tutorials to celebrate the season.   These will be gifts you can make yourself to give to friends, family, teachers, etc.  My first one is almost finished, all I have left is to photograph the individual steps for the visuals.  All of them will be geared for beginners.

How’s that for a teaser?  LOL  I’ve decided to make some of my gifts this year.  Not only is it economy friendly,  you are giving of yourself to others: your time, effort, etc.

Speaking of gifts, I did finish my first one yesterday.  It is a freeform crochet scarf for someone, and I love the colors in this one:

For new visitors to my blog, I already have a tutorial on how to make this present.  You can also click on the birdy link on the right side for a list of all my free tutorials.

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Quilting Update:  I just ordered some black batting for a number of quilts I need to do.  Since I can’t start the Egyptian quilt until the batting arrives, I’m starting another kimono quilt that looks like this:

That’s all for now!  Hugs, Carla

Antique Kimono Quilt

This lovely silk quilt was carefully and painstakingly pieced by Barbara Kiehn for a friend.  It is made from heirloom, antique kimonos and both the images and the silk kimonos are from her friend’s relatives.

The key to quilting a quilt like this one is to not overpower the kimono’s or the silk transfer images with the quilting.  Instead, I intentionally chose the thread to blend with each area, and to provide texture.  The only areas where the quilting shows is the light areas around the images and the kimono.  My intention was to enchnace these areas since i consider these the main focal points of the fiber piece.

Hope you enjoyed this quilt as much as I did!  It is so striking in person, some times the camera doesn’t capture it.  Thanks, Barb!

The next quilt is pretty cool.  I’m picking up a new one by Barb, a very cool Egyptian quilt.  I’ll ask her if she minds me showing it off.

Other news:  Joe and I are babysitting Jack tonight, plus we said farewell to my Dad and Doris, who left this morning for LA.  It was fun having them here.

Hugs, Carla