Thursday, June 19, 2014

I'm ruined.......

Normally, if I wanted to do a quilt quickly, I would do a meander or a panto and then be done with it; but, ........now I know better. 
 
Pre-Karen McTavish classes, I had decided on just doing a quick loopy type meander on this quilt....just to get it done and off the UFO list.  I had done this loop on one of my grandson's baby quilts and loved it and I wanted a quilt with it, too. 
 
 
But.....POST - Karen McTavish classes, all I could hear her saying was "if you say should I be doing this or that on a quilt?, the answer is Yes". 
 
Well, this quilt has been loaded on the Millie for over a week and it kept telling me that the meander was just a quick get it done and there was more I could do for it.
 
So...... I did piano keys in the border.
 
 
Geesh....I even went so far as to "turn" the quilt so that when I did the outlining on the little black border, I didn't have a bunch of starts and stops.  This was a first for me, too. 
 
 
The binding is made.
 
 
....so I will be getting to this right away.  I for one do not mind doing bindings. 
 
The one nice thing is that once this binding is on, the quilt will be 100% done since I had already added the label to the backing.  It was the one final block that was from the panel of numbers and letters, but since it didn't work out in the layout, I used it for the label.
 
 
I am naming this quilt ABCs, 1,2,3's, but I thought if  this could stand the test of time, I would name it Runkeeper in the Playground.  What with all the loops in the center of the quilt and the kids playing on the fabric, it looks like you are keeping track of their steps. LOL.  
 
 Anyways, I am amazed at the number of things that I learned in Karen's classes.  I thought I was going  for McTavishing and Feathers ( I have yet to try out McTavishing), but it is the little things that are really sticking in my head and  giving me those ah-ha moments. 
 
I am so much more pleased with this quilt than if I had just done a meander.  It looks more ......complete? professional? like I know what I am doing? 
Whatever..... I like  it.
 
Thanks for popping in to look. 
 
Now...hmmm...what to work on next?  There are plenty of tops I could put on for more practice.  I just need to decide. 
 
Happy quilting!
 
 

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Dual challenge quilt reveal......

 
This week is the retreat that I go to every year and at the last minute I had to cancel.  So, I am stuck at home doing doctor's visits instead, but still wanted to not reveal the quilt until the day that everyone there in St. Louis at the Mercy Center does their reveal. 
 
 
This is my dual challenge (doing a Trips around the World quilt AND using a Hawaiian theme for the other challenge).  I had the top done in April and my mini group and I hung our tops out on the line on a windy day to get some pictures. 
 
I have since quilted it.
 
 
I did it on Millie using a panto called Banana Leaf (appropriate, huh?). 
 
 
 
 
This is the backing to show off the stitching.
 
....and here it is just coming off the long arm. 
 
 
It's a big one. 
 
I still haven't gotten to the binding.  I will use some of the pink batik to do that, but now that I am stuck at home, I have plenty of time to do that.  I had other projects that had a time limit on them, one of which was Rita's quilt which I was going to deliver to her at retreat, but it had to be sent via mail.  We are hoping it gets to her (she lives near St. Louis) so that she can bring it to show-n-tell, too. 
 
My friend Sandy is going to show the pictures to the group for my show and tell, so it will kind of be like I am there. 
 
Oh well, sad, but necessary. 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, June 5, 2014

A learning tool......

Just pulled this small wallhanging off the long arm.  Try to ignore the chalked in feathers 
 
 
I have been wanting to do this wall hanging that Eve made several years ago.
(Eve is a friend at a retreat that I go to yearly and that particular year she made "everyone" something that had her applique on it).  I thought it would be a good practice piece for  the long arm. 
 
 
This was my first time doing micro-stippling that I did around the appliqued paisley.
 
 
Also, it was my first time doing the orange peel.  I did this free hand rather than using a ruler. 
 
I, also, learned that you don't do feathers on a busy background. Either that or you don't use So Fine thread to do them in because you can't SEE them!!!  Maybe if I had used Glide, I would have been better able to see where I was going or where I had been. 
 
So of course, on the back, I have missed feathers, overlapped feathers, feathers going in the wrong direction, etc.  
 
 
I had used chalk to draw on my feathers some time ago....long before I took Karen McTavish's classes.  Of course, I didn't follow those.   I was doing my own thing and my own thing wasn't all that good, but like I said....this was a learning experience and I learned a lot.
 
Oh and to top it off, I now know how to add extra backing to a quilt that is already on the long arm. 
 
Don't ask. 
 
For as small as this quilt was, I learned a lot. 
 
Next......the ABC quilt is loaded onto Millie. 
 
Stay tuned.
 
 
 
 

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Rita's quilt is done

I just took Rita's quilt off the long arm, but first I had to stitch the two areas that I missed and I had a pleat in the back that needed some attention; but I am glad to say that for a very first "truly" custom quilt, this doesn't look too bad if you take 20 paces back and squint your eyes.  ;D
 
 
 
Close up of ruler work and feathers.
 
 
Here's the backing with a close up picture. 
 
 
 
 
I personally love quilts that have that crinkly look, so I am thinking this quilt is going to look really good once it is washed and dried.  I sure hope Rita is happy with it. 
 
 
 
 


Michigan quilters, take note

  Come see us at our first Quilter's to Quilter's sale.   Don't know what that is?  Well, it will be 28 quilters/vendors selling...