Keepin' on keepin' on

The end is in sight: I have started quilting!

I have discovered why it would have been better to quilt before edging, since now the borders are nicely sewn up and it's a pain to tie things off. Things to remember for next time. Anyway, some of the quilting is right in the middle, so it would be a pain either way.

My plan was to make little circles in some of the blocks to match the circle pattern on the back. In my first circle, I used a chain stitch, which was really pretty but REALLY slow for some reason (25 minutes!) perhaps now that I am getting more used to working with 4 pieces of fabric, I will try again). So I've done 6 others with a more simple backstitch (1:25 min), and I'm reasonably happy with it. See? (front and back)

I've also picked 6 squares within each mod block (plus the four central black v. black intersections) that I intend to quilt, and then maybe that will be enough. After all, my original goal was to have the quilt done by the end of this month, as the recipient was coming to visit; the trip has been put off due to snowpocalypse but I don't want the quilt to suffer a similar fate.

I also decided that my most recent felt bear would be a fun addition to the quilt, so I put his arms on (20 min), and he's all done. See how cute?

So, 2:10 for me this weekend. Total = 57:40.

Catherine

A quiltmaker on the edge

A double meaning: I spent 6 hours and 20 minutes hand-sewing the edges of the quilt yesterday (see? It's done!), and I am on the edge of being totally finished! I had originally planned to start doing the interior quilting as well (I think those are in the wrong order, too bad) but 6 hours of poking myself with pins and needles was enough. And I couldn't find the thread that I bought, humph. For now, I will enjoy my success!

Total = 55:30 this quarter
Catherine

The quilt(wo)man cometh

So exciting! Yesterday I sewed together the fabric for the back of the quilt, which was all I had planned to do. But, with the back all ready, it was so easy to keep going, sewing the quilt top, batting, and quilt back together around the edges, about ~1/4 inch from the edge of the quilt top. Today I'm going to fold over the quilt back onto the quilt front and stitch it in place. I have one edge already pinned in place (see? here it is hanging from the ironing board; the pinned side is on the right), and it's really starting to look like a finished product. I spent 4:40 hours doing that.

I also worked another 2:10 hours on the cross-stitch. It's already starting to be rewarding, as the shape of the creature comes into focus... see?

Total = 6:50; 49:10 this quarter.
Catherine

Something old, something new

Yesterday was an adventure in black borders - I ended up using three different black fabrics to complete the box around my 9 squares (I could have used only two, but it would have necessitated more of the stretchy fabric, which was not as annoying as I expected but still annoying). I also finished undoing some seams on the fabric for the back, which I am ready to sew up today! So exciting. All of that took 3.5 hours, as I am slow with a seam ripper (especially when the fabric is thick and a bit stretchy).

For a bit of a change, I also started a cross-stitch that I was supposed to have finished by now (a family project). It is cute, and I think it will go quickly as I get back into the cross-stitching groove. It is on linen rather than dedicated cross-stitch fabric, which will make it look much nicer but also means it takes longer counting all the threads. I spent an hour on that before I turned in for the night.

I have the next two days off and will mostly be inside due to epic snowfall, so I'm hoping to have some good quilt pictures by the end of it!

4.5 hours, 42:20 hours overall.
Catherine

Borders and bears

Big and small news! The big news is: I have sewn together the 9 squares of the baby quilt (see? From this far away, you can't see all the mistakes, hooray!). I am so happy. I also tried sewing on a scrap of the black fabric that I thought would be too stretchy to work with, and it may not be as bad as I thought. Anyway, worth a try. This coming weekend I hope to get black borders around this whole block, sew the back of the quilt together (from ~4 pieces, I hope it won't be a big chore), and start quilting! It'll actually be my first foray into real hand quilting. I have an idea I am excited about; will share pictures.

The small news is: due to a variety of circumstances, I ended up staying at a friend's house for three nights earlier this week. I was feeling so inspired by my quilt that I wanted to keep the sewing momentum going, and had recently rediscovered some pieces of felt bears that I must have cut >2 decades ago. So, I took the pieces, stuffing, and beads for eyes to my friend's house and worked on those Sunday, Monday, and again today. I finished the 2" green bear on Monday (actually, I realized since I left her house that I forgot to give him a nose! Must fix), and have been working on the 3" black bear since then. You can see that he just needs his arms sewn on, and he'll be all finished too. I left the green bear with my friend, as she seemed to like him a lot. I think I'll give black bear (and peach and grey bears, to be made) to some lovely little girls I'm not officially related to, since their Christmas presents are way overdue.

 
Overall, I worked 45 minutes on the quilt, and then 30 (Sunday) + 30 (Monday) + 90 (today) minutes on the bears = 3:15 hours.

Total so far in 2015 = 37:50 hours.
Catherine

Black fabric, I shake my fist at you

I am making excellent progress on the quilt! I spent Wednesday and Saturday finishing the last squares and taking apart the dress my mom and I made in 1994 for a high school performance that's going to be repurposed as the back of the quilt - lots of fun swirly colors. Also, Friday I stopped by the fabric store to get batting and more thread. Sunday I worked on the black strips that will bind the 9 color blocks together. Now I've got 6 squares sewn together and the other 3 are together, and I have the black strip ready to go that will made one giant block... and then I lost the will to pin things. However, I've also made the painful discovery that I don't have enough black fabric, unless I want to use this super-stretchy stuff that will cause me to go insane. So, back to the fabric store...

In good news, I've discovered that the recipient of the quilt is coming to Boston in 3 weeks, so that gives me both strong motivation to finish but also a decent window in which to wrap things up. Yay!

Wednesday, 1 hr, 20 min

Saturday, 2 hrs, 45 min

Sunday, 6 hrs, 40 min

Total this week: 10 hrs, 45 min. 

Total this quarter: 34 hrs, 35 min

Catherine