An Unplanned Finish

Yesterday, I went to work preparing to complete my number one goal for the week. I want to finish the T-shirt quilt and let my customer know that it is ready to be picked up. The quilt top has been finished since the end of February, so all that remains is to get it onto the long arm and quilt it.

Long arming is becoming somewhat less intimidating with each quilt I quilt on the machine. It seems as though practice really does help, as I knew it would. Having less time lapse between quilts is also good, for it keeps the skills fresh.

The last quilt to be completed on the long arm was Meadow Lily, the wedding gift I made for our neighbors' daughter. I knew when I took that quilt off of the frame, the entire machine needed a thorough cleaning of lint and dust, a needle change, and oiling. These things HAD to be addressed before doing a quilt for a paying customer.

As I completed these maintenance tasks, I had the idea that instead of loading the commission quilt, I ought to do some little quilt of my own first. Working out the kinks on my own quilt is preferable to doing that on a customer's quilt. Turns out, this was a good idea; I need to deal with some tension issues that make stitches that look like eyelashes on the quilt. 

This looks pretty bad, but it only began getting this bad toward the end of the quilt. At the beginning, it was pretty decent, as you can see in the next picture.

I will get my manual out, make whatever adjustments it recommends, then I might just do one more little trial quilt of my own before going ahead with the commission. 

Now, the happy news is that these 'eyelash' stitches don't bother me in the least on my own little quilt. Made from leftover fabrics, this little quilt has been awaiting quilting for years; I can live with little imperfections on my own quilt. All good - and it get one more thing finished and removed from the sewing room.

Another bonus from the entire effort is that I got to practice my freehand stippling. I tend to always do a loopy freehand design and I wanted to stretch my repertoire. I am rather pleased with the results. There are a couple of rough spots, but overall it looks okay.

While I was at it, I went ahead and put the binding on, finishing it completely. It only measures 22.5x26.5 inches; done in no time.

The backing is quite pretty. I wish I could identify the fabrics used in this, but it has been too long ago. Perhaps I will peruse the blog to see if it is recorded anywhere; if it is, I will add the info.

That's all I've got for now, Peeps! Wish me luck in completing the T-shirt quilt!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Dividing the Reds

Lest you think I have forgotten the original task for the month - sorting, organizing and cleaning the sewing room - I am still dealing with a few things. At present, it's the reds.  

A few posts back I shared a picture of my fabric tubs lined up in the hallway. I'd moved them there to facilitate cleaning the stacks and piles of fabrics accumulating on my cutting table and other surfaces. 

These five tubs lived in the hallway for the better part of a week earlier this month. In the foreground is the tub devoted to that blue KF quilt I will return to as soon as Lucy is finished. Meaning this tub will stay close by and easily accessible.

Next are the green tub, the brown tub, and the white/neutral tub. I have tidied these and returned them to the closet. Tidying involves some refolding, restacking, and yes, revisiting all those luscious fabrics waiting to be turned into quilts. This whole process totally motivates me to sew-sew-sew!

While I was in the brown tub, next in order of full-ness to the reds, I pulled this combination of fabrics, and I've been dreaming of a quilt for them to become.

But I digress; today's topic is the red tub. 

At the far end of the hallway lineup is the red tub, a veritable riot of reds and far too many to snap the lid shut on the tub. This tub has camped in the hallway all month awaiting - what? I have been unable to  come up with a way to manage this situation.

I spent some time Thursday addressing all (all?) the issues, and have made progress. First, I took every bit of fabric out of the tub. I sorted large cuts from small cuts. I sorted dark reds from light reds. I separated burgundy-reds from red-reds. In handling all these fabrics so much, I discovered that I also have purply-reds and brown-reds. Some separation was necessary.

Here are some things that I removed.

The piece above looked too pink, so I intended to move it to a different tub (pink and purple). When I refolded it, I discovered that it was a half-yard cut of Paris Flea Market. Ha! I have a Jelly Roll of PFM, so this is still out and likely on it's way to a project tub.

This fabric was in the red tub, but just as easily could go in the blue tub. I have not moved it to any tub yet, because the thought occurred to me that it would be perfect for a backing on a patriotic quilt. So now, I am considering options for yet another project.

All of the fabrics above were in the red tub. See what I mean about brown-red and purply-red? These are stacked together and I think another project has been born. I know they do not necessarily 'match-match,' but they go together well enough for a quilt. And believe it or not, I already have a quilt in mind for these. Awesome!

This stack also came from the red tub, and honestly, I do not know what to do with these. What a mish-mash. I will let them sit out for awhile as I work on other things. Perhaps an idea will niggle its way to my brain. Two of these have already been used in quilts, so they could go into the scrap-cutting stack. Thinking...hmmmm...

The red tub that went back into the closet looking like this. Neatly folded and easy to identify. Bonus: the lid snaps shut. Looks pretty good, right?

From the reorganizing described in this single post, let me tally up how many new or pending projects were born: 1, the brown grouping; 2, Paris Flea Market; 3, something patriotic; 4, the purply-red grouping. Four. Four potential quilts on the horizon, in addition to those listed on my 2021 goals.

I'm good with that.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Who Is This Woman?

I don't know what's gotten into me! Honestly, I have for years been the poster child for procrastination. So I really cannot explain the sudden burst of productivity. Oh, well, I am so not going to complain about it and try to keep it going!! I love it!

Here is what I made this morning. It was totally spontaneous.

From this weekend's charm packs, I had several 5" squares of a variety of beiges. Plus, I had a third charm pack as yet untouched. While putting the Schnibbles together yesterday, I noticed that I really liked the combination of these beiges with the dusty, pale peachy-rosy-pink. Well, who says you have to do more than just sew a bunch of squares together?? I pulled out all that the extra charm pack had, added a few choice pieces from my stash, and voila! A nifty little wall hanging. I put a skinny brown border on it, and I am planning to add another wider border of a reddish hue - something close to most red block in the quilt.

This wall hanging currently measures about 24"x29".