More from the Oast Showcase

 The only award was for Visitors' Choice and for me this was a toss up between two of Maggie's: Bees n' Flowers and her Shimmer Quilt but in the end I opted for the Shimmer Quilt which I just love.

I've included this so you h
get a glimpse of
Maggie's longarm quilting and her hand
painted bee

I believev this pattern is known as Star Rose

I admired the top on her wall for a long time so it's lovely to see it finished

 Coincidentally Maggie voted my Give & Take much to my amazement though neither of us do that thing of voting for friends. These were our genuine choices!

Give & Take

I tried to capture the Cafe Walls illusion in my "Frieda's Cafe Curtains" quilt  by taking a picture from a distance

Get together

Frieda's Cafe Curtains a Christa Watson pattern based on the  Cafe walls optical illusion whereby the straight lines appear to bend.

Four of the Usual Suspects gathered at Judi's today. It was so good to meet in person. Maggie brought my Cafe Curtains quilt which she had long armed, Her work really enhanced the quilt. The optical illusion was much more apparent through the camera viewer than with the naked eye. I'll take more pictures later.

Valerie has made a super top for her niece based on Katherine Guerrier's work which Maggie is also going to quilt.

Valerie's quilt top

Frieda's Cafe Curtains

Looking at the small image on the upload page the optical illusion (cafe Walls) is very apparent not so much to the naked eye. The lines are straight but can appear wayward - try half closing your eyes. This is a Christa Quilts pattern. I was surprised at the size of the squares, 5 inches. I made mine to fit my bed, 82" wide and 77" long. I have a bed on legs and a small foot board so don't need very long quilts. I used Carolyn Friedlander fabrics hence the Frieda and curtains because this is fabric not wallpaper.

In the final stages of making I was fed up with this as a hopeless case visually but am warming to its simplicity. The fact the optical illusion doesn't work close up makes it quite restful. The pattern recommends interlocking circles quilting to "heighten the illusion" so it is going to be long arm quilted: Maggie has a suitable pattern.

New project

I have a cupboard full of UFOs, planned projects and abandoned bits and pieces but am I working on any of them? No. Instead I've embarked on my third new start, a Christaquilts pattern based on an optical illusion called Cafe Walls. The pieces are quite big, 5" finished, so I hope to make a good sized quilt, a keeper as I've used treasured Carolyn Friedlander fabric. I may have to order more of the brown. 

No illusion as yet

I have set up in the spare bedroom piecing on a Bernina so I can put my Janome into the table insert in my sewing room to machine quilt the first two starts.

In the spare bedroom

Sewin Room