Yesterday I began quilting the sky in this quilt, a landscape with a lighthouse. It is sort of a scribble pattern. The example in my book is even and regular, but my mind can't seem to do repetition. I think more like jazz than chords or toe-tapping. Anyway, it is started.
It seems that my biggest procrastination is not so much picking a quilting motif as the fear that my lack of skill will mess it up. Translation: I need more practice. That seems to be impossible right now. I should have a practice sandwich on the long arm all the time. For this, I mounted the quilt a bit to the right and put a practice piece on the left to try my threads, etc. so maybe that will help.
Another project is on the wall. This one is for a competition, so I'm not going to reveal all of it, only enough to say that the photo on the right is one front leg of a horse. You can see the pattern for the other front leg to the left of it. I'm making it in a combination of foundation paper-piecing and applique. So far, this is lots of fun! The pattern is my own design, sort of. I have permission from a wonderful artist to use his paintings as design ideas for my quilts.
We had a month holiday in SC and that was a good rest. Now I'm back at full-time studies and trying to squeeze in time to quilt and other artistic endeavors. Actually, this changes concentration from one side of the brain to the other and works well as a break... beats cleaning and other housework. My reasoning? How can the house get dirty when I'm on the computer all day?!
Being away from my sewing machine for over a month has left me lean and hungry. I did manage to buy a couple yards of fabric at Mary Jo's in Gastonia, NC (a great place) and sew on a button, but that is all. Oh, that was difficult.
I was going to take a project with me on this trip, then buy a used sewing machine to leave at my daughter's house, but after seeing all the models that Baby Lock has to offer, I knew I would not be able to buy a simple used machine, and if I bought a less-than-simple new one, leaving it behind would also be difficult.
So instead, I developed a new pattern while my hubby was golfing and my daughter was working. Remember the nativity scene quilt? (Link) I developed and quickly sold this pattern (all that I could make by copyright permission). I'm still getting requests for it, so decided to do a new one, this time not needing copyright permissions that would limit how many I could sell. It isn't quite ready yet, but watch this space! I will have to make the quilt too, but can post a picture of the pattern when it is done. A finish is soon expected.
For now, the lighthouse quilt (Link) is on the longarm and I am trying to decide how to quilt it, starting with the sky. I could follow the design of the clouds in the sky, or do an allover motif that looks like clouds. Opinions and suggestions are welcome.
Happy New Year!
This one was an experiment. Have you ever bought a quilting magazine because the patterns looked good, but later you looked at it and said, "What was I thinking?" -- Someone who knows not much about quilting gave me a quilting calendar last year. The first picture on January 1 was this one. I liked the quilt, but ugh, those colors... 
So I grabbed some pieces out of my stash and made it in much different colors (sorry, the photos are fuzzy and the colors are a bit off). I'm still not crazy about it, but this shows the difference fabric can make. It also shows how long it can take me to make even a small project... sigh!
Below is the full version. It is about 44" square and the colors are a huge improvement, closer to the small view on the right. I still haven't given it a name (or a label).
Back a few months ago, our small church quilting group made a nativity quilt to hang in the church. I decided to draft and sell the pattern. It came off an old Christmas card and took two years to get copyright permission. Even at that, they gave me permission to make a few, so I did 24 patterns and sold them in a few weeks, asking each person who bought one to send me a photo when it was done. Here is the first completion. It is from Doris, in Ontario, Canada. Didn't she do a great job! I am really excited and hope to do more patterns...
Sorry, I lightened it up -- a bit too much, but it is lovely! I'm not sure what size she made it, but the original was about 84" wide, as was the pattern, so this looks like she followed it and made the large one.
Merry Christmas!
Dropping in to say I'm still here, but not doing much quilting. This is on the longarm but I've not touched it for at least two weeks. Lots of ideas, but the courses I'm taking fill every minute. Good stuff (Masters in Theology) but when I do have a minute, I want to rest my brain and body and just veg.
I do take time to read most of the blogs that I follow and am excited as usual over the creativity displayed! PBPWMGIFY!
This top is from a kit called Blackberry Throw using Batavian Batiks. It is for
someone who wanted a purple quilt, but I'm noticing that purple is hard
to photograph! Also, I put the blocks together a bit different from the
pattern. The backing and batting are ready to sandwich and I've designed
a feathery quilting motif. Problem? Time. Anyone have a solution for
that?
Finally, Kali's quilt is finished, framed, labeled... even showed off. Tuesday, when I drove up to my home from the framer, some neighbors were out and about, so they came over and admired while it was still in shrink wrap. One wanted a photo to send to his mother, who is another quilter. I was very excited!
On Wednesday, I took it to guild and was blessed to show it to more than 150 of my peers. One woman told me she was in the framing store this week and took notice of this quilt. She took pictures of the process and promised to send them to me. How cool is that! Another told me even the quilting made the tree look full of cherries. To top it off, the guest speaker surprised me with an invitation to exhibit it in a show on the west coast. That is astonishing. I'm pumped.
I'm also thankful to God for my granddaughter who challenged me to make this... and she says I can take it wherever, and "If you need any more challenges, I'm here to offer them..." What a blessing she is to me!
Now I need to get to work. More quilts on the go...
