Thursday 5 May 2011

Lady of the Loch???

Apparently the Lady of the Lake Quilt Block was named after a poem by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1810, Sir Walter also lived in the Scottish Borders.

The pioneer men and women loved the tales of Sir Walter Scott, and the women honored him  by naming a patchwork block after the poem.

The Lady of the Lake quilt block appeared shortly after publication of the poem, one showing up in Vermont some time before 1820.

Apparently it is one of the few quilt block patterns that has never been known by other names.



This wonderful quilt top was pieced by Andrea Beck from Flintshire.....when I bought this top I could tell that Andrea had put a lot of thought into the fabrics and the piecing....the fabrics are a wonderful quality, I believe they are 1800's in style which is great as my home was built around 1835....I am very pleased with my choice of fabrics for the two borders.  



I have been waiting to quilt this one ...I wanted to be sure that I did it justice....
I didn't know how I was going to quilt this top, my quilting designs usually evolve on the frame...but unusually for me I had no idea what to do in the borders and setting triangles so I stitched in the ditch all the blocks and borders then went straight ahead and quilted the blocks first....I have used this straight line quilting in wholecloths before...it's great for pushing back the background so I used that in all the light coloured triangles which let the darker triangles come forward....curved crosshatching and a feathered swirl with a pebbled spine finished each block.
Next the inner border...I tried to pull something from the body of the quilt...I ghosted the straight line triangles out into the plain border....that left a strange shape in the corner another triangle looked a bit odd but the space was perfect for a feathered swirl....the fabric in the outer border is rather busy so a straight continuous feather finished off the quilting just right!




I'm a cold old fish....I like warm quilts and this one is so special it's a keeper, it's going in the spare room in my drafty old farmhouse....so.....I used a double batting/wadding of Hobbs 80/20 and Quilters Dream wool, I used Filtec glide in the needle and bobbin (28 bobbins)...that straight line quilting is very thread hungry!








I chose a light coloured fabric with a subtle bamboo design for the backing which makes for a reversible quilt that looks light and airy for the summer months....the texture on the back is wonderful too!











Don't you just love those colours?

All of the fabrics used in this quilt are of fantastic quality and with the use of a double batting this makes for a very substantial quilt....I just love it...it looks great in this room with the teracotta coloured carpet too!

Andrea....I think we've made a great quilting partnership with this one!


18 comments:

  1. Just beautiful, makes me want to start one today!
    Michelle

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  2. OMG!! Your quilting is phenomenal!! No really. Absolutely stunning. I'm in awe!!

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    1. That makes two of us Linda. I honestly believe that some people have magical abilities when it comes to picking out materials, patterns, and then having the creativity to decide what types of quilting needs to be chosen to complete the quilt. Thank you for sharing your work of art with us Kay!

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  3. Hi Kay - it's absolutely beautiful. You have done a truly amazing job of quilting it. I think I'll have it back now please - lol !! I did try for a sort of oldey feel when I chose the fabrics - I love those sort of colours. Thanks so much for letting me know what you did with it xxx

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  4. WOW! You definitely did that quilt justice!! Absolutely beautiful quilting! Just right!!

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  5. It is out of this world, someday!!!

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  6. Oh - Now - that_is_stunning - I love it, and yes its a beautiful quilt. No wonder you have had a quiet blogging spell :)I love your description of the Lady of the Lake too;

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  7. Hi Kay!
    Your quilt is STUNNING!!! The quilting is just beautiful!!! I am going to try the double batting approach~thanks for sharing!
    ♥ Eileen

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  8. Beautiful Kay. I really like what you did in the plain border with the triangles. And I love the fabrics.

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  9. this is beautiful, I have to say probably one of the most stunning quilts of all from the bloggers quilt festival!

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  10. Hello Kay,

    This is one of my faorite patterns, and you've done a beautiful job on it.
    I am looking for more history on the origins of the block. Can you steer me toward any internet sites, or where your info. came from?

    Thanks so much,
    Linda Johansen
    www.lindajohansen.com

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  11. Sorry I've been a bit distracted with the Scottish Quilt Championships....
    Linda , sorry but you are on no-reply so can't email you directly....
    Thanks for visiting my blog Linda....I'm not sure now if this is a true 'lady of the loch'?
    I think that maybe the block should have half square triangles on four sides.....it is said that the Lady of the Loch block was named at the time of the novel Lady of the Loch written by Sir Walter Scot who lived here in the Scottish Borders, that's the limit of my knowledge I'm afraid....

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  12. The colors are so appropriately chosen. The quilting does more than justice to this quilt. It is awesome. This is one of my favorite interpretations of this quilt. Thank you. -Melissa USA

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  13. NICE! very nice! I am remaking a "Lady of the Lake" quilt, and was looking for some measurements for the larger triangles when I found yours! it is totally AWESOME and I hope that you see me message. I really LOVE the quilting too. I think I have a pic of my original one on my blog some where. but it's been awhile. I've been making these 1/2 square triangles for months now. It's time to put some together as blocks. I have 3 Daughters who all want my flimsy falling apart first quilt, so I'm remaking it x4! ARGH I have a long way to go.

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  14. Lovely, just beautiful, words escape this gorgeous piece !! Thank you for showing.

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  15. What a wonderful quilt. i was trawling the web looking for inspiration for my hierloom quilt - now I need look no further. Wonderful combination of colours and creative quilting.

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    1. I would cherish this quilt.
      It is absolutely beautiful ❤️
      Would you be willing to share the block size before they are cut into small and large half square triangles.
      The pattern I have only makes a small wall hanging.
      Many blessings and thank you for all your the special tips on how you completed your quilt.

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  16. Oh my goodness this is I think the most beautiful quilt I have ever seen. I wish I was talented enough to do something like that unfortunately I am not...lol you have dinner an amazing job with this quilt. Koodo's my dear Koodo's.

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Hi there, thanks for dropping by, I appreciate your visit and comments.....