Life has a way of tossing curves and blowing up plans, but I'm still getting a few things done. The last "leftovers" quilt has been quilted and I'm now stitching down the facing. I tried a new (for me) way to put on the hanging sleeve by sewing the top edge of it by machine on to the top facing. The sleeve was hemmed on the ends, but not the long edge. That was done after it was sewn on the facing. Then the facing was pinned and stitched by hand to the back, and I will hand stitch the bottom of the sleeve when I get the other facing pieces done. It is looking okay, but I'm still thinking of it as a 'practice quilting' quilt. Pictures in a few days.
This one is on my design wall... a one-block wonder from a print in two color ways. Most of the darker blocks are just randomly placed as I sew them. There are dozens left to stitch, so this one will take a while to finish and sew together.
I wasn't too sure about the overall layout, so made a few hexies in CorelDraw and moved them around, finally deciding that tall and narrow with the lighter fabric at the bottom looked the best. Now that I see this picture, I like it, but need to rearrange some of those blocks. Deciding how to quilt it is going to be a challenge!
Here are four more blocks finished (I didn't move the lower left one out of the picture, but it was finished last post.)
I've one left to sew together which is J. R.'s initials, and another one that so ugly that I'm going to pitch it (no photo of that one!)
These
are scenes from the movie, and I love the one with the blue mountains, Grey Havens.
My plan is to do some quilting 'reflections' on the water so that
vertical line of contrasting tones isn't quite so prominent.
I'm also glad that I didn't have to put eyes on Gollum. That character gives me the creeps!
I
do have a question... if anyone has any paper-pieced patterns that are
Lord of the Rings, but different than these, I'd be very interested. I
need a couple more blocks and don't want to make duplicates. I might be able to make patterns, but it would be nice to find some already made.
I'm
now planning the general layout for this quilt. The plan looks good so far.
Choosing the background color and fabric is a challenge though. I'll
take pictures of my options and see what you think.
Life keeps interrupting my other plans, but there is progress in the sewing room! This top is ready to quilt. The backing and batting are also cut to size and ready. I'm practicing a panto for the main part and have to find a border and figure out what to do in the kimono, likely follow one of the designs in the fabric.
I've also decided to quilt the background, then sew on the crests. It seems easier that way rather than trying to stitch the design up to the circles and keep the pattern straight. The photo shows a side view where I've placed them and marked the spots with chalk. Oh, how it hurts the knees to work on the floor, now that I don't have a ping pong table that will hold it. (We sold our house and left the pool/ping pong table for the new owners.)
I procrastinated working on this project for a long time, fearful I couldn't quilt it properly and not wanting to send it out ($$$), but dear Lisa encouraged me to practice using a panto. I'm a "scribble" quilter and love to make it up as I go, but wanted this one to be more precise. Amazing how practice makes it easier, and thankful for the confidence Lisa has in me.
One of my other blogs gets a new post every day. Is that my excuse for not posting here more often? Or is it because if I have to pick quilting or blogging --- well that's an easy answer. But I am reading others...
No, I've not died or moved out of cyberspace... just busy. Some of that busyness is quilting progress on this 101" wide by 75" deep quilt. The sky and most of the sea is done, as is the "sun" --- so I'm working on the rocks and the foreground water. After that is done, I still have to applique leaves on the sky and then quilt them. To see a full view, click here. This is a big project, so I'm about ready to make more postcards!
Snow most of yesterday kept me inside and at my sewing machine, so these skinny mountains got a few more layers.
The freezer paper pattern is pinned to the bottom so you cannot see the rest of the water. The bottom needs only a few more background pieces, then I'll put on some trees and do thread-play to bring out the rocks, etc. in the landscape.
The sun is shining so maybe I will not have to shovel the driveway (it faces south). My DH is golfing in AZ but when I shoveled yesterday so I could get out to go to church, my neighbor came over and helped me. Cool!
