Ready to finish...

Here are the better photos, as promised. The first one shows the correct color, and the second one, with "brilliant sunlight" from the overhead light, shows the quilting. 

I plan to sew a facing to the edges and mount it on a stretcher frame.

Lighthouse

Finally, the quilting is done and it is blocked, but not trimmed. Don't ask what the white thing is... I had just enough time to snap one picture and write this short post before heading to the kitchen.

A better shot soon, I promise!

Contest

I'm still quilting the lighthouse, but nearly done. It needs some detail work done on my DM after it comes off the longarm, particularly on the lighthouse.

I just entered a contest on Keepsake Quilting sponsored by Quilters Club of America. There are 50+ prizes, the main one being a 20-year supply of fabric! Here is the link to enter the CONTEST. If you win, send me a fat quarter (grin).

Panel quilts?

Does every quilter have a guilty feeling about making a quilt using a printed design? I don't. Every now and then, life either becomes so complicated that I just want to make something very easy, or a baby shows up and a quilt needs to be made right now.

This one falls into the first category. I won't go into my tales of woe, but live is difficult right now, and this cheerful little panel gave me pleasure with its bright colors and innocent motifs.

It will go to an organization in our city called the Zebra Child Protection Centre. This marvelous groups works with our city police to take care of, support, and make safe children who are victims of abuse, neglect and crime. They have a place where the children can feel at home, and a selection of things for each one to "take your pick." This includes basics like toothpaste and towels, but it also includes games, toys, and quilts. I am a big fan of the Zebra Centre, and because this cheerful panel has a zebra on it, this seems a logical home.

Now, confess... do you make quilts from printed panels? and just don't tell anyone? Or am I now about to be scorned as not a "real" quilter?

NOTE: The original title for this post seems to be a magnet for spam (lots of it) so I changed it, kept getting spam, so I deleted it. I also removed the link to the Zebra Centre in case that was the attraction. This is a copy of the original which was posted December 4, 2007.

Slow Progress is better than no progress!

This quilt is still "in process" but the time I can spend on it is very enjoyable. I love this kind of freedom and do much better with it than more formal motifs. The full view is posted earlier, so check that out here.

I've finished down to the rocky embankment in the scene, minus the lighthouse which still needs to be done, and the trees that can be seen on the right in the first photo.

Also needed is some stitching on the grass patch and a bit more overhanging on the edge of the embankment. I'm motivated because of another project that has a deadline, but this one needs to be finished first.

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Slow progress

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!