Another learning curve

Ami's quilt is on the frame, and the first little bit was not too bad... quilting in the ditch while holding a ruler to guide the machine feels awkward, but it works. However, when it come to doing some feathers... well, let's put it this way: they are a bit ruffled! Nothing is more humbling than trying to learn a new thing and realizing this is going to take a while!

I did practice on a white board manipulating the marker the same way the machine is moved (well, sort of) and that is a good way to practice. The feathers were not any easier and I just got tired of drawing and erasing. This is a baby quilt after all... and I know, that is no excuse. I will practice some more before I tackle it again. The feathers are on the flying geese, and the fabrics are prints, so if no one turns this to the back... (sigh) No photo, maybe tomorrow.

On a higher note, my daughter liked her gift bag so much that she (and two others at the table) tried to convince me I should go into business and make these for sale. She was really excited about it. Me? I cannot imagine a person with attention deficit sticking at a production line. Even if every bag was from a different set of fabric, my attention span would fold up after maybe four of them! At least it made me feel good.

Frustrations in the bag?

The past few weeks have been taken up with remodeling our bedroom. New flooring, wall color, furniture, bedding. I'm exhausted, but also frustrated. Other than my once-a-month get together with other quilters, I've not been able to sew at all. Oh, I've looked at quilt books (a new book does not automatically mean a new quilt) and read blogs (same thing) and been inspired, even opened EQ6 last night and played with an idea, but no fabric creations. I'm frustrated.

But there is one little gem that did come out of all this. I'd seen it in a McCalls 2005 Christmas quilt magazine and had to make it for 'show and tell' at our group. I've cut out another one, and these are so easy! The pattern called for a 6" orphan block but my leftovers were too large so used a small piece that I'd stamped on during an Earthly Goods class. The colors in the photo are a bit anemic. The green is rich, darker, but sparkles.

Oh, the bedroom turned out absolutely gorgeous... but now I need a new quilt, a king-size to boot. I guess that a new bedroom does automatically mean a new quilt. Sigh! Those UFOs are never going to be finished...