Quilt marathon ... we've all been there!

Spent 12 hours quilting my second piece for the Quilt Show this weekend.  I should have got onto it a lot sooner ... but I underestimated how long it would take. Almost fatal. I'll be much better prepared next time.

I started this quilt, called 'Litmus Paper' about seven years ago. It's one if my UFOs that never got finished because I was so terrified of my FMQ skills. Most of the fabrics are hand dyed and commercial batiks that I picked up in various shops and the Melbourne Expo. Here is a close up of the quilting detail.

When I started quilting 7 years ago, I had an old Singer Sewing machine which I traded in for my Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 830.  Unfortunately the Husky didn't like the Gutterman Sulky variagated threads that I was using, despite buying new metallic thread needles.  As I'd already quilted a quarter of it in fanciful leaves and swirls, I couldn't  unpick it or use normal threads.  Eventually I unearthed another needle that I acquired at a workshop with Sue Dennis recently.  Luckily it worked and I finally finished the quilt on a very blunt needle, praying that it wouldn't break.

I've called the quilt Litmus Paper because it reminds me of school chemistry classes when we tested liquids for their Ph balance using litmus paper.

The design is one by Valori Wells.  I love her work.

I pieced the border using leftover fabrics and used a tutorial by Red Pepper Quilts to machine stitch the binding as I normally hand sew it, but because of a lack of time, I had to do it this way.  I also downloaded a tutorial on creating a 'D' sleeve to hang it with.  Another new experience.  Thank goodness for all those generous bloggers out there so that people like me can learn from them - even in the dead of night!

This quilt will join the 'Boss-Eyed Bulls-Eye' as my very first exhibits.