King-Size Reveal --- Finally!

Scott's quilt is finally totally finished. This afternoon, we hung it from an open beam in our church using a temporary basted sleeve and heavy clips. The light from the windows is natural, but cloudy rather than bright sunshine. 

Soon this one is going in a box and under a tree. (If anyone reading this knows my son, don't tell him. He knows I've made it but has not seen it yet - and refused to look at photos.)

I'm glad this monster is finished. I could not work on it when getting a pacemaker as pectoral muscles are needed to handle something this big. Sometimes I was just so sick of working on it that I did something easier. 

It looks better in life, I think. Those who helped loved it and I am humbled by their praise because the Lord deserves it more. It was not easy to do and more answered prayer was involved with this one than anything else I've ever done. 

Two people said it was too nice to put on a bed. What he thinks remains to be discovered. Oh, it is 106" wide x 94" tall and took nearly 300 hours. 

More red slab quilts and one finish!

From a small box of red scraps I made this quilt which looks far better than the photo. My hubby claimed it as soon as he saw it. Now am working on this one (below) and will make another one also, all from that box of red scraps. The three of them are lap size or larger (or will be) for big laps!

The blue sashing is not my choice. A friend convinced me to try it. I've never been a fan of red/blue together, but it does have a certain appeal. Besides, it is from the stash and I am not buying more fabric! The left two verticals are sewn, with the third ready to attach and the fourth just hanging there looking messy. I am thinking of a 5" piano key boarder with leftover reds (they multiply in the dark when no one is looking). There is enough of them, plus a bit of blue to accent or put in the corners.

The third quilt has a brown/red print ready to cut up for sashing. 

Making these slab quilts is easy and fun. I'll quilt them with a panto and they will likely go to QoV Canada.

Scott's king size quilt is done, but no photo yet. We are taking it to our church where we can hang it from a beam and get back far enough to take a picture. It will be quite a production needing two ladders, at least two men, lots of clamps and patience on my part!

Progress and another new project

I'm binding Scott's king-size, still trying to figure out what to call it and make a label. 

 In the meantime, I started this one. It is from a pattern by Sarah Ruiz called "Pathfinder." Her version is in solids, very modern layout. I decided to use up blue prints in mostly lights/darks. This is a night photo without a flash - not good for getting true color!

The size was larger than I wanted so dropped a few blocks and changed the layout. It is on my design wall, not yet certain about the layout so it is not stitched. I'm thinking it needs a gentle border too, perhaps 2" or so, but will have to scrounge to find the fabric. These blocks used up almost all of it.

One other thing: I decided to put all the quilts I've ever made unto other pages so have made a start. Click "Gallery" to see the first few dozen. It is fun to revisit them.

Quilting is finished

Finally, thirty-plus hours of quilting is finished. My house is not big enough to get a full-view photo, so here are bits and pieces. As easily seen, it needs to be squared up and trimmed, and the binding put on. Also, it is still wrinkled from being wrapped around the back roller for so long. However, I feel 10lbs lighter!

Also, I'm putting all my quilts (that I have photos for) in the Gallery, link on the right, EXCEPT those that are for sale. This will take a few weeks. It's interesting to see the progression.

Quilting - the end is in sight!

I've been working on this king-size so long that I cannot say whether I like it or not. However, as the end is in sight, it is turning out better than I expected. Here is the large leaf on the left side. It was NOT flat and yet the quilting made it lay down and be flat. Truly, quilting makes the quilt.

I've done more than half the sand. It has the watery edge, then some grasses, then in the foreground some shells. For some reason, this part needed more quilting to get it to lay flat, but it is behaving nicely. 

I'm no expert and this one proved it, but it is nearly finished. The foliage at the bottom remains, and it will be fun. Then the binding, all 400 inches (about) of it.

Decision Made & Slow Progress

The last comment reinforced my decision...no holes. Just line them up using a half-size block to finish the ends. Here is part of it on my 4 x 8 design wall. The rest is laid out on the craft table and only some of the half-blocks are done. They are 6 x 6 because the larger blocks are actually 6 x 10, not 5 x 10 so the setting will be uneven... which makes it more interesting anyway.

This is what Scott's king-size looks like now. I have to finish quilting the sand, all the foliage on either side of the sand and water, and this stretch of foliage along the bottom. I'm working one hour a day, which is about all I can handle. My meds and heart condition makes naps a must and there is eating and so on... Sigh.

Mid-month Progress

I don't set time goals for quilts because this is supposed to be relaxing, right? But this quilt has not been (no, I'm not going to whine). Now I'm quilting it. Here is a small section partly done. Actually, this part was fun. The leaves are dark enough that my jiggles and jerks are not too visible.

This is a relaxing break from the beach scene. The pieces are all 2.5 x 6.5 making blocks that will finish at 6" x 10" - I'm making about 81 or more of them, and likely a border. Good stash buster that will require more thinking/planning when the blocks are all finished and need a better arrangement.  At the moment, sewing them is like a coffee break (I don't drink coffee) when free motion becomes tiring.  I will use a panto on this hot chili pot!

 

On the long arm and about 1/10th done...

Scott's king-size is on the long arm, but instead of showing a picture of it partly quilted (will later), here is a picture of the backing. Before pinning and rolling up some of the front, it was draped over the machine and looked like a 4-person tent! This particular backing is 120" wide.

I let the photo stick out to emphasize how I feel about working on this monster. I've never procrastinated so much in my life over anything else.

Ready for quilting

It is nice to have a few quilts ready to quilt, and the tarp off my machine which was there to protect it from flying plaster/dust. Now to get at it...

Scott's king-size is draped over my craft table, ironed, all the hiccups fixed, etc. Hi Edith... It looks much better than it did when you were here. I washed the backing and it came out smoother and no wrinkles at all. The batting was one long piece equivalent for two kings, so hubby and I rolled it on the bar under my machine. It needs a trim but it is ready too. This has been a huge challenge, and if anyone has made a king, you know 'huge' is the correct word. That backing is 120" wide. The batting is like wrestling an alligator. The quilt top is too large for my design wall and for the table it is folded on, but it looks great on a bed. Glad to get this far!

 

Others: The purple slab hangs with batting and backing, ready to put on the machine. I have a wonky log cabin in the same state of readiness and a large crib quilt also. Right now, there is a large table runner pinned on the machine. I just need to have my lunch, put supper in the crock pot, add the correct thread and do it! Yeah. 

Also have neatly folded four shelves of fabric. Only about 20 left, but this is progress. Neat makes me feel ambitious.

Onward and upward... thank You God! 

Progress report

Well, this one is done and ready to put in the mail... along with a couple of donations from a friend. The quilt is 39.5" x 36.5" so more of a lay/play than wrapping up the baby, however, the recipient is not yet a month old (tiny) and lives in a mild climate.

As for the stuffy (or is it spelled stuffie?), Stacey made him. He is about 8" high and totally washable. CUTE!  She texted me today to say she has something else to go with it... no clues though.

In this picture, he is sitting in front of Scott's king-size beach scene... which is nearly ready to sandwich on the longarm. I only know how I will quilt the leaves... so it might take awhile — and lots of prayer which has got me this far. I told Scott that as soon as it is done, I'm going to kill him. He just laughed, a suitable response. So far, nearly 200 hours. 

Thinking abouut creativity

This time of year is busy for many people, and it can become stressful. I'm thinking that if I look at all that needs to be done, including those extra projects that might be 'nice' to do, and consider them as part of my God-given creativity, they drop off that 'chore' list and go on the 'fun' list. 

Since our kids left home, particularly the youngest one who loved decorating the tree, I've not had much enthusiasm for it. However, a couple years ago someone invited me to the local Festival of Trees and I was impressed by the creativity. I came home and tried some new ideas. This year was the same, and the most amazing thing happened: the tree was up in about 1/3 the time it usually takes. I felt like I just baked and iced a spectacular cake... or stitched and quilted a clever wall hanging. Here is my 30-minute tree. It could use a bit of tweaking, but no one will notice but picky picky me.

Now, back to that king-size. I have one more palm leaf to make and attach! Then a lot of stitching to do.

One palm tree now has leaves...

These photos show Scott's king-size pinned up, with about two feet of it on the floor -- hence it is fore-shortened. The left side of this monster is now closer to the goal. I've finished the palm with leaves, but it is just pinned (I keep tweaking the placement). Also, it is brighter in 'life' with more contrast in all those greens.

As soon as this part is done, I will baste the pieces in place and do something similar on the right.

I've put in a few critters and flora too, but they are not immediately visible, just like critters and flora usually are. Now for a short break to do something less challenging.

Progress Report on king-size landscape

Plugging away on this monster quilt — good thing my son is not a monster or he would not be getting this much 'love' and hard work! Here are some detail shots showing basting, pins, and one with the pattern pieces stuck on.  The quilting will make them.

 This part is about 8" wide from leaf tip to leaf tip.

 The palm leaves are freezer paper patterns,18-20" long to give an idea of scale. 

Each will be two shades/fabrics in various greens. 

I wasn't going to do coconuts but they nicely cover the ends of the leaves!

This is part of the 'jungle' at the bottom. 

The upper right leave is about12" long.

 

Houston Show Favorite

Whew, it has been busy around here! My hubby, who is the most supportive person in my life, organized a trip for us to the Houston Quilt Festival -- and I am still almost speechless at what we saw! 

Most of the the winners are available online if you look for them. I want to show you my favorite. The quilt is called "At the Waterhole" and here is the photo that I took. You can see a better one at the artist's website. Her name is Sheila Finzer and she lives in Oregon.

I loved this one so much that when I noticed it was for sale, I just had to go find out the price. I told the lady in the "quilts for sale" booth that it was likely the price of a small car. She looked it up and told me, "More like a mid-size!"  Needless to say, I came home without it. My hubby teased me, "Where would you put it?" but I would have found a place. It is six feet high and over eight feet wide, but would go nicely with the painting I have of zebras. Sigh!

By the way, many of the quilts allowed photos, but they are not to be on blogs, etc. without properly identifying them. The photos are not to be used or sold to be used on t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc. either since this violates copyright laws. I've seen a few on Pinterest that have ignored this stipulation. I took about 150 photos (there were more than 1600 quilts) and will be careful to follow those rules. If you have never been to Houston for this event, PUT IT ON YOUR BUCKET LIST! And allow at least 4-5 days to see it all. Biggest cost is airfare and hotel (and whatever tempts you in the vendor booths)!

Scott's king-size is coming along. I've almost got burn-out on it and need to stop and make place-mats or doll quilts or something really easy every now and then.  The big one is pinned to the top of my design wall with the rest of it draped over my craft table so I can easily baste leaves in place. I'm also printing bird, flowers, and butterflies to hide here and there among the leaves, as well as a piece of driftwood etc. to go on the beach.

Progress on King-Size

This quilt is partly on the design wall and partly on a craft table. So the view is somewhat foreshortened. It actually has as much beach as water.

I decide to baste the leaves in place because pins are not too much fun when sewing complex applique. I wanted to post this in case someone ever finds themselves in the same dilemma — trying to manage a huge project and keep it all square and straight. This has a few wrinkles, but nothing serious. Pressing and quilting will fix it.

There are more leaves to go on the left end (just out of sight) and palm trees and leaves up the sides. I will look good on the bed, but right now I'm tired just looking at the picture.

Applque a few dozen leaves

Since the last post, I've been making large leaves, at least 18-20" high. At first, I didn't know the best way to do these. Raw-edge is prone to get fuzzy when washed and these would be impossible to piece. Finally, I decided to applique them using the following steps:

1. Trace the leaf shape on to the dull side of freezer paper, cut out on the lines.
2. Press the shiny side of the pattern to the right side of selected fabric.
3. Cut it out with a scan 1/4" seam allowance.
4. Turn the leaf over to the back side and place it on a piece of colored paper (red works).
5. Ciip inside curves and V-shapes almost to the edge of the leaf. 
6. Using a glue stick, put 3-4" of glue along the seam allowance. 
7. Using the smallest Apliquick rod, fold the seam allowance to the fabric (wrong side) and press it firmly in place.
8. When the entire leaf is done, let it dry then peel off the freezer paper.
9. Press from the right side with a dry iron.
10. Pin in place on the quilt background and to the next leaf...
11. Repeat.
12. When done, applique around the edges and enhance with quilting.

 This isn't as time-consuming as it sounds. The Apliquick Rods (See right side of the link for these) are amazingly helpful and even fun to use. It is going to take many hockey and soccer games to hand applique them in their final positions though. I just hope my son is not an old man before he gets this quilt!

PS... He told me he didn't want to see it until it was done, but then changed his mind. We invited him here for pizza Sunday night, but he had plans so invited us to his house. So I took the sketches (link here), and his reaction was a positive boost to my procrastination. For this I am thankful!

Progress on Scott's beach scene

I've got this much sewn together (after lots of improvising). The bit of lower sky is just pinned, and the way I will quilt it will give it some distinction from those far-away islands. I also have the rest of the sky ready to piece and put on the upper half. 

Next, a jungle of leaves go around the bottom and lower sides, with palm trees up to the top. This one is a king-size and taking lots of hours. Also the driftwood is just pinned on because I'm not sure where it will go, and I might resize it.

Here is my sketch for the leaves and trees, but as you can see, it is only a guide. I'm hoping the leaves will be a lot easier to make that that water and sand!

Early August Progress Report

Here is the child's quilt. It is a panel-practice quilting piece, but cute. The binding has a built-in flange. I saw this technique on a YouTube video and tried it. Easy! This and others will go to "Basically Babies" for layettes they assemble for needy families.

Scott's king-size is finally looking the way I want it to look. I'll post a picture soon. Right now, I'm getting ready to go have my eyes fixed... not a big deal -- I can still thread a needle!

King-Size workout

Pressing on with Scott's king size and with the bottom half background, already feeling the stress of manipulating that much fabric. This is mostly improve with small mock-ups to follow and a bunch of fabrics in the right values and colors. I'm telling people who ask what I'm working on that it is working on me.

These mock-ups are a tip from an artist friend. The one on the left is an outline drawing with the most detail. The middle is a value sketch. The one on the right is a paste-up using fabrics that work with the values. I didn't finish the palm trees because that is not necessary (but it is a lot easier than making the large ones!) The tropical leaves will be on the sides that hang over the bed, with the beach on the top. He doesn't want a sneak peak so hope he likes it.

Here is a close-up of the right edge, which will be mostly hidden by large leaves, but shows how I'm keeping this monster on my work table - large paper clips - see one in the upper right corner! 

Palm trees on the island

While pondering the next steps on Scott's king-size Hawaiian quilt, I decided the nearest island needed some trees at the base of it. I found some fabric in my stash and used the back for the farthest row and the front for the nearest. They look like the trees on some of the actual islands (better than this photo), but most of them have at least a few palm trees. I do not have an embroidery machine, however my Bernina 1630 has a few simple motifs and it suddenly came to mind that one of them is a palm tree! 

I did a practice run, finally remembering to put on the correct foot (#40). Otherwise the tree was lop-sided. This sample is a close close-up as the tree is less than 2" high. I'm using Invisafil so the stitches almost disappear rather than showing up as they do in this picture. I also fiddled around until finding a nice zig-zag that looks better than this photo.

Then I used a permanent marker to fill in the leaves. I'm not sure about thread painting or more painting, but right now, it looks just fine from a few feet back. Here's hoping I don't fall off this learning curve (or ruin the quilt)!