Sunday 15 June 2014

Chatsworth Quilt by Fergus...

Hello there!

I hope you have all had a good weekend.  Hasn't the weather been glorious?   I hope it has been where you are and that you haven't been frazzled by the sun.

Now as you may know, I have been involved recently in my Quilting Group's Quilt Exhibition and I promised I would share some pics of my quilts with you all.  So here is no. 1 done by our very own Fergus...

He is so proud of this, I can tell you!  The Cow's head is taken from a photograph of a tomb at Chatsworth in Derbyshire.  I blew up the picture and converted it to black and white to get the shading and transferred it to paper, from which I made a stencil of the design with freezer paper.  The stencil was then cut up into the individual sections e.g. ears, three pieces for the horns etc, and then I attached the whole stencil to the fabric with only one section removed.  This section was then painted using Markal sticks.  Something I had never tried before and had to learn "on the job" using some instructions kindly sent to me by one of the Quilting group.  

Once applied I then left it 24 hours and reattached the piece of stencil back on the fabric and started another section.  Note, this is not a quick method of designing a quilt!

Once I was happy with all the shading I then removed all the stencil and then set about machine embroidering the quilt front.  After I had carried out some embroidery on the front I then I could let Fergus set about quilting it.  He had difficulty with the painting as Fergus could not paint the front without stepping in sections he had already painted!

See!  I told you Fergus quilted it, with me helping him manage the sewing machine as he could not reach the pedal!

Once all that was done we worked on binding the whole quilt with two colours, a new technique to both of us which we learnt whilst at the AGM in Portsmouth earlier this year.

And here is the Boy looking so proud of his new quilt...

Before I go, I wanted to share a photo which I took the other evening.  I have seen this owl fly over the patio several times recently but on this occasion I looked out to find him sitting on the bird table which is only a few feet from the bay window!  He sat there for some time whilst I watched, took photos and even ran to get my camera, as opposed to using my phone.  He knew I was watching as he turned his head several times.  Once he realised I was just gawking at him, as opposed to photographing him, he looked at me one more time and flew off into the night.  A beautiful bird and I felt very honoured that he sat there fore me.


Rightio then.  Time to sign off as I have work tomorrow and need to get some sleep!  Just to say thank you all for popping over.  I am entering this quilt into the Snippets Playground as the darker of the two binding fabrics is a Snippet and the back of the quilt was made using a fat quarter I won at a Raffle at Quilting.  Besides which Fergus is a mate of Parsnip so he can sneak in the back gate!

I am likewise entering it into my Mate's NBUS Challenge as the fabrics were new and also it the painting is a Never Before Used Skill!  Tee Hee! 
Have a great week y'all!

Hettie and Fergus!

14 comments:

Kate Yetter said...

So pretty! I love the lavender.

Darnell said...

What a team you two make! Your quilt is brilliant, Sam!! You both worked so very hard on this. Thank you for linking it with my NBUS Challenge and posting my button! It will be a treat for my card-making friends!

I can't wait to show this to Hammy (who is still in Hollywood). He sometimes whines at how hard I make him work and it will do him good to see how your Fergus does REAL work!!

Thank you for sharing the photo of the diva owl, too! I lightened it in Picasa and enjoyed it for long minutes. Gosh it's so green there!!

See on the Playground! Remember you owe me a peanut butter cookie because I guessed right in our last game!! Hugs, Darnell

scrappymo! said...

Very pretty. I have been to Chatsworth and loved it...especially their farm shop. Mmmm.so many fabby things there.

Fergus is a great sewer...still waters run deep!

The owl is fabulous and so is your breathtaking view!

Sarn said...

Great post Sam. Love that quilt - you and Fergus did a good job!

Hugs, Sarn xxx

Di said...

OH WOW!!!! Wonderful quilting Sam - and clever Fergus too. LOVE his specs :))

Hugs, Di xx

Kim said...

Pass on to Fergus my utmost congratulation!! That is one very cool quilt!

Words and Pictures said...

Fantastic - I've been dying to see these, and this exceeds expectations! Congratulations to you and Fergus for such an original design and brilliant execution. The bovine head is a fabulous central image, and I love the Celtic look of the quilting patterns. It's a brilliant piece of work.

Oh, and thank you for sharing the owl too - what a joy to have one sharing your garden.
Alison xx

Kathleen said...

Very pretty colours and a fabulous job. Must admit I thought it was a devil not a cows head and when you said it was from a gravestone I was even more convinced.
How lucky are you to have a helper.

Kath x

Sue said...

Oh isn't Fergus fabulous! great colours fab quilt Sam and that owl oh my so gorgeous and great view you have! lots of huggles Sue xxx

scrappymo! said...

Me again. Typing on my phone so bear with my errors!
The tape is from my post office. I could try to wrap some around a piece or acrylic or balsa wood and send it to you. It comes on a round roll like tuck tape!

MaryH said...

Hi Hettie, Saw this lovely creation over at the Playground, thinking it was a card, I zipped in for a closer look. Oh my! (I used to quilt in another life ...or being honest, I should confess I bought fabric. Lots). I was amazed at reading all about the creation. That was a tremendous amount of effort to create the design, then transform into this magnificent quilt. Fergus is to be commended for doing such a fabulous job with his machine quilting (and I've done that, so I know it's not the easiest thing to do - and do it well.) So my hat's totally off to Fergus. He can visit my house any time he'd like, cause I have tons of fabric, batting and I've never made something as stunning as this beautiful quilt. Well done. You & Fergus make a super team. Kudoes to you both! TFS & providing such enjoyment this afternoon. Oh yes, TFS the owl picture too! Hugs

Bonnie said...

You and Fergus are quite a quilting pair! Wow! This quilt is amazing! I'd be glad to push the pedal for him anytime! What a treasure to see and get a photo of the owl! We hear one sometimes but haven't seen him.

Princess Judy Palmer said...

A self portrait quilt! Fargus is the quilting bomb! Great job to the both of you. I love the colors.

Carol L said...

Didn't I just catch Fergus sitting on the table over at Di's blog?? How fun to see him here, donning glasses and sitting at the sewing machine! Your blog is hilarious, and your quilt is just gorgeous! Keep on using that NBUS, because it makes beautiful projects!