Friday, March 12, 2010

New Photo, Not Blurry

After some fiddling, I took a new photo of DJ Edgy Friends and put it in the previous post to replace the fuzzy one. I also did a retake on the postcard landscape and will put it here so you can see the difference fuzz makes! It shows up most when you double-click and look at the mountains.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The binding is on, just needs a label!

Finally this UFO is finished. I have to make a label, the easiest part, but other than that, it is finally done. The photo is blurry, something my camera has decided to do no matter the settings, so I need to get out the instruction book.


Anyway, I started it about the fall of 2004, got stalled, but decided no more quilts until this baby is done. There are nine DJ blocks (4 and 5 of two patterns), the four corners in the original DJ design, and all 52 triangles, only in two basic colors. I quilted it with swirls that are like the swirls in the darker fabric, not realizing it until after doing a few, and did basic outline/echo around the pieces in the triangles. The binding went on machine on front, by hand on the back because of that angled edge. Oh, I am happy!


I also finished this little class project, a small one doing various methods for landscape quilts only little, like each postcard 4" x 6" or so. (Sorry for the error before editing) The quilt is 13 x 22 or so. It is quilted heavily in the borders, mostly because I felt like it and the fabric suggested it. The sample the teacher brought to class had a few simple landscapy lines, and that would have looked good too. This one also needs a label, so technically isn't finished, but close enough. 

Friday, March 5, 2010

Clarification re Dear Jane

After all the encouraging comments from the last post, I decided to read it again and realized how muddled it was. Sigh. The photo is the Dear Jane queen-size quilt that I completed a few years ago. The quilting on it is perfect because I sent it out and it was done by computer/long arm -- and it cost a bundle so it should be perfect!

A triangle border normally goes around a Dear Jane, but I didn't put them on mine. However, I decided to make them, all 52 of them. They are now done, but in different colors than this DJ quilt and in a setting and quilt all of their own. I'm calling it "Dear Jane and Her Edgy Friends." It is about 60+ inches square, sort of. If you go back a few posts, there are some pictures. It is two colors and I did a good job of the triangles. The quilting on it is what I'm not happy with. I did part on my HQ 16 and part on my DM (the detailed work in the triangles). It has taken so long, and I just want it done. It had been in my UFO pile for too long, causing lots of procrastination. So I determined to do nothing else until it is finished. Sigh... only 25 more triangles to quilt and then the binding and label.

Thanks to all for the cheerful and encouraging comments. It is great to be a quilter (even when I wish I could wrinkle my nose and this one would magically be totally completed!)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Slugging away...

Since I've been busy quilting Dear Jane and Her Edgy Friends and not posted for ages, here is a photo of my Dear Jane with the 169 blocks. As you can see, I didn't lay it out or make it in the traditional manner. This works for our spare room queen bed.

I thought maybe I'd do another one sometime, but now that the border triangles are done (didn't put them on the first one) and the resulting top is being quilted, that might be abandoned. This pattern seems to take forever. So does the quilting, partly because I'm putting lots of stitches on it. I'm not happy with my workmanship, but that is what seeing computer quilting does to you... perfection, no skipped stitches, etc. After beating myself up and suffering from green-eyed monster bites, I've decided that the Dear Jane slogan is correct after all: Finished is Better than Perfect! I can live with that.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The top is finally done - with triangles, all 52 of them!

My DH held it up and I took the picture --- one or both of us must have been shaking (or laughing)! Sorry for the blurry, but I am celebrating. This Dear Jane leftover triangle top is finished. Now for a name? Crazy Jane's Edgy Friends comes to mind. Any other suggestions? 

I've still to sandwich and quilt, but this is a major dent in my UFO pile. I'm still arguing with myself whether to put it on the EQ 16 or do it on my DM because I've planned some intricate quilting in the background spaces to pull this rather odd arrangement into some sort of order. Now I have to go buy some thread...

Monday, February 8, 2010

Crazy Jane - Ten More Triangles

Here are ten more Dear Jane triangles. Knowing myself, I'm not going to start or work on anything else until these are finished. There are six left to do. Most are pieced, paper-pieced, and/or appliqued. They don't take very long so I've no idea why I want to procrastinate. When they are done, they will join the others (52 total) and several plain triangles, two blocks from the Dear Jane quilt, and a few borders to make a large, squarish quilt, squarish because the edges are shaped like this \__/\__/ with a bit less of an angle. They should lots of fun to bind - but I'd better stop thinking about that or I'll do some more procrastination!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Two more Triangles

There are only 13 triangles left, and I've cut the fabric for each, including those that are appliqued, pieced, foundation paper-pieced, and those that have a combination of several techniques. No photo. I did several loads of laundry today, cleaned bathrooms, and went up and down stairs until I don't want to see another one --- but I did get one more triangle paper-pieced and appliqued.