Quilting is progressing better now that I can actually SEE again. I've really had trouble lately seeing what I was hand quilting on my music quilt. I blamed it on bad lighting, etc., but finally had the 'duh!" moment...I needed new glasses! My bifocals were failing me, and my non-bifocal hard contacts were TOTALLY failing me. I just bought my first pair of $9.95 drugstore reading glasses, and I feel like a new person! I wear them with my contacts and I can see to read and hand sew again. This will work until I can get to the eye doctor. Yahoo!
Between sessions of hand quilting, I have been doing some mindless scrappy piecing. My bulging scrap bins needed some reducing, and I have a couple of baby and graduation quilts to make.
I've been playing around with the blues strings and the bright chunks...very cheerful! While working on "Baltimore Rhapsody," my poor sewing machine has just been collecting dust.
I filled a dozen bobbins, and off I went. It's good to give the fingertips a little break from the constant pricking of the hand quilting.
The choice of color by my niece for her graduation quilt was blue/maroon, so I'm trying to decide between two scrappy projects, one using these paper pieced diamonds, the other based on one of Bonnie Hunter's fabulous scrappy designs from Quiltville.com.
Also, every now and then I get out my collection of Wonky Stars and make a few more. They are so much fun to make, and I am using very happy, chunky scraps to make them. Directions for making Wonky Stars is also on Quiltville.com.
I'm not sure exactly how they will end up being used, but as the number grows I think of possible arrangements in my head as I dreamily chain piece the star points on the 2.5 inch scrappy neutral squares.
I love the mindlessness of this ongoing project. My sewing machine is 6 feet from the washer/dryer, so it is a good project to leave out so that I can sit down for just a few minutes and get something accomplished without much thought.
I don't think too much about what colorful scrap goes where, and since the "background" is scrappy, I don't have to think about that either. This is another good, mindless project to balance the hand quilting of the music quilt (where I DO have to think...).
And until I got the reading glasses, accuracy was not an issue with this chunky, imprecise project. Ahh... I should care that I ended up with two checked white neutral pieces right beside each other...but I don't care enough to fix it, LOL!
I am alternating between the border and outline quilting of blocks on the music quilt. What was I thinking when I drafted this border? It's taking more time that I thought it would, but it is worth the effort.
It's still fun to make all the fruits and flowers come to life with a little quilting attention.
My almost-16-year-old daughter is keeping us plenty busy with end-of-the-year outings. Final band concert, being inducted into the National Honor Society, a dance, International Dinner, Korean Dinner, meetings about planning for college and looking for scholarships, field trips that need parental chaperoning...wow! And she was in the school play with a big part playing a nutty mother, Penny Sycamore ("You Can't Take It With You") - she was awesomely crazy. I hope she wasn't modeling her OWN mom...
So, I will keep on hand quilting this monster...hopefully I am getting close to done. I forgot how cumbersome hand quilting a 95" x 95" quilt can be with a hoop.
In the meantime, me and two quilts are off to the Shipshewana Quilt Show in June (Indiana)..."All Around the Town" and "Life of Riley - Mom's Civil War Bride Journey" were accepted into the juried show. That should be a lot of fun!
I am hoping to post more often and catch up on reading all of YOUR blogs, in addition to answering emails and comments.
In stitches,
Teresa :o)
You've got lots of fun projects underway!
ReplyDeletelove your progress, your wonky stars look great
ReplyDeleteGlad that you can see again, I need to make an appt for the eye doctor too.. Been on my list, but keep doing other things!! You have made lots of wonky stars, and they are so bright and fun. It is fun to sit at the machine after doing lots of handwork. You daughter looks like she is a good actress--and you have given her the love she needs to be able to practice different roles & try out different ranges of characters. I think the smile she has looks like yours (did you look like her at this age??) Senior year is a round of last things you do with your "adult" kid as a high schooler. It is exhausting---but good to see them change and grow into the next phase. Happy Quilting Judy
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! Your other projects look like fun.....I have a box of wonky stars, too! LOL And your daughter is SO busy! Yikes! I'll bet it was fun seeing her in that play.....I love that movie! One of our favorites, and it was on just last weekend! :o)
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your posts! Yay!!
ReplyDeleteWow! Love this bright, cheerful post full of pretty projects! The blocks are so striking in your blue string pieces, and those stars are wonkily beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love my reading glasses and am always amazed at hoe much better i can see! Wow on the lovely wonky stars!!! i looove it.
ReplyDeleteI always love seeing what you're working on. I think that your Wonky stars look great and I can imagine that you need a break from the hand quilting.
ReplyDeleteLove the scrappy string blocks, very cool, I look forward to seeing the finished quilt. Your wonky quilt is lovely, I too have made this fun quilt ( yet to be quilted! ) they are mindless, but fun to make.
ReplyDeleteYour blue string diamonds and scrappy wonky stars are great scrap projects -- ones that I would like to be doing. Glad your eyes are working better now.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got your eyes working for you! Love all you are working on and I understand as a hand quilter how much you must miss hand quilting even though piecing does give your fingers a break :) Try the electrical tape on your fingertips.. works great! What is your plan with the diamonds??? Scrappy lone star??? Thanks for sharing all you have been up to :) Kathi
ReplyDeleteI love to see the progress on your scrappy quilts. The blue stings look like they will be fun to play with :0) Your quilting, as always, is amazing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. I love your wonky stars and I would tell myself and everyone else that I planned those two checks to be side by side. I also like your scrappy strings. I don't have enough of any single color scrap to make a quilt from them but do need to work on a scrap reducing project. Blue is such a soothing color. I went to an eye doctor and she told me the best option was drugstore reading glasses plus contacts. I use them all the time. I can see up close without my contacts/glasses but need the readers when I am wearing contacts. Getting old is so dignifying, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteLove your projects. The string diamonds will make a wonderful quilt. The wonky stars are fun.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to work some variety in between the hand quilting sessions.