Falling in Love

I'm thick into the process of quilting this this top, 

inspired by a wonderful quilt in Roderick Kiracofe's new book, 

Unconventional and Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar 1950-2000.

I usually approach machine quilting with a "grin and bear it" attitude.

 "Just do it."  It'll feel good to have it done.    

I decided to stitch in the ditch, "every stinkin' seam," as Cindy Needham

teaches in her excellent Craftsy class.

So, I was going along, a few minutes or an hour at a time, trying not to rush myself.

Noticing my stitches weren't perfect, and forgiving myself for that.

Stitching, stitching, more stitching...

And then I started to fall in love. 

 Slowly stitching around every piece brought the stories to mind.

Oh, there's that red flower that T gave me from her mother's stash.  How sweet.

I love it next to the gingham I bought in Norway!

And there's that piece of men's shorts I bought at Goodwill with S.  That was a fun trip!

And the men's shirts that M and I have shared across the globe. 

Oh, and the golfer shirts that T sent from Florida.

There's a tiny sliver of red and white.  How'd that get in there?

Did I really put a scrap of bark cloth in this?   I like it!

Now I really don't care how the quilt looks overall.  

It's the stories, the connections to sweet friends, 

the memories of the design process that matter.  

I'm sure we've all experienced this.  

It's one of the greatest joys of quilt-making--

working closely with our fabrics and remembering the stories behind them.  

Wishing you finishes and love this season!

Still Here

Just finishing a few things.  

One in the machine,

And one in the hoop.  

Only 18 blocks to go, out of 64.  As long as I quilt one block each evening, 

it'll be finished in time for the quilt show next month!

Flying Plaids is Quilted!

I've been quilting this puppy off and on all summer.

Wish I'd used brown thread for the back.  Oh well.

I got pretty good at this design.

I made the top last summer, all out of thrift store shirt plaids.

Yahoo!

I'm celebrating with a new toy, recommended by Kathy Doughty.

Very fun!

Flying Geese Feather Quilting

If you've been intimidated by free-motion quilting, as I have been, it helps to watch people do it. 

I'm no expert, but here's a 3-minute video of me quilting on my Flying Plaids quilt.
You can't see the stitching all that well, but you get a feel for the speed and motion--very meditative.

I hope it helps you know you can do it.  If I can fmq, anybody can!

Wordless Wednesday

"Every Stinkin' Seam"

Yup, I'm stitching in the ditch, "every stinkin' seam."  

While spending about 8 hours unpicking my crummy attempts at fmq this weekend, I watched Cindy Needham's EXCELLENT Craftsy class on free-motion quilting. 

She makes a great case for stitching in the ditch, and you remember it with her mantra,

"every stinkin' seam."  

So, that's what I'll be doing every stinkin' evening this week!

Quilted!

I spent the week quilting this and learning new skills. 

"Winter Solstice"  68" x 88"

Pattern by Gwen Marston in her book, Liberated String Quilts.

                                                       

I thought I was learning feathers, but they turned out to be hearts.  Oh well.  I like hearts too.

I never thought I'd say this.  FREE MOTION QUILTING IS FUN!  (With plenty of dark chocolate.)

Now, off to shop for binding fabric and baste the next one. 

This just may be the summer of fmq for me!