Welcome! This is the blog of Wendy Whellum and Legend and Lace Designs

Welcome to the Blog of Wendy Whellum and Legend and Lace

To find out more about Legend and Lace please visit the website http://www.legendandlace.com/



Quilt Gallery

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Return to Paradise

I have just completed adding the final border to the Return to Paradise.  This is my version of Dawn's - Collector with a Needle - Calico Paradise.

Next week it is going to the machine quilting lady to be basted, so I can start the hand quilting.  I tried to lay it out flat to take a good picture for you, but it is so big, I could not find a space on the floor without moving too much furniture.....so you get little snaps of it.


I have had this border fabric in my cupboard for a good few years now, waiting on the right project.  The colour is madder, the same as the other reds in the quilt, so it is really perfect.  I cut the borders from the length of the fabric, and cut them a 1/4 of the width.  Whether or not they stay that wide, I have not yet decided.   The original quilt has 12" borders, but I am pretty sure it will look just as good with them a little narrower.
 While I had it on the ironing board, for the final press, I thought I would take a few close ups.
 I cut away from the back of the larger pieces of applique like these birds.  I don't always cut away, only when I think there might be lots of quilting on the applique shapes.  Makes nicer stitches.


I love these blues!  They are some old Smithsonian prints I have been hoarding for years.  No point in keeping them just for the sake of it.

Dawn said the original quilt had a purple backing.  I found this one, which is not really a reproduction fabric (that I know of) but it looks like it could be.  A lot of Henry Glass fabrics fit in with reproduction quilts.  Using such a dark backing, and a printed background fabric, I have not been quite so fussy about trimming the stray threads on the back of the work.  I figure no one is likely to notice :-))



5 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful quilt! LOVE the applique work.:)

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  2. Oh my gosh I so love everything about this! I may have to breakdown and pick up this pattern! Beautiful work!!

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  3. Great to see your fabric choices Wendy, it looks great!

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  4. Just wonderful Wendy! love the fabrics you have chosen for the applique and your border and backing will be perfect. Cutting away the applique is a good idea...with hand quilting it must make quite a difference to ease of stitching.

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  5. Yummy! Oh how I love the colors in this quilt! Happy New Year and have fun quilting it.

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