Quilt Projects

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Friday, March 2, 2012

Thursday, Glorious Thursday!

Yesterday was Thursday (as if you didn't know) and I spent it in my quilt cave again. All day. I woke at 5:30, tip-toed out of the bedroom so my hubby could get a little more shut-eye and went to play with fabric until he woke up.

Then we had a quick breakfast of granola and I was back at it.

I worked all morning on machine quilting the above baby quilt. I've had the top pieced for a long time (yep, it's another UFO) and I got it sandwiched last Thursday so I could work on the quilt right away yesterday.

The background of the small print is actually more beige than shows up in the photo. This shot makes it look closer to white than it is.

Conversely, this photo makes the beige look "yellow-er" than it really is. (Obviously, photographers for quilt books and magazines are pros at their jobs and know what they're doing!)

I got the whole center cross-hatched (I love cross-hatching whether done with machine or by hand) and most of the blocks around the center are 50% done. I think I'm going to do some meandering in the solid parts of the blocks.

I am not a relaxed, comfortable machine quilter. There, I said it. If I had a sister or quilting friend who loved to machine quilt (and I know there are those of you out there who do!), I would be in heaven. Piecing is my joy and I could piece, piece, piece forever . . . if only I had someone who would love to quilt all my projects. What a combo that would be. Unfortunately, that's not the case and I keep hoping I will someday get to a place where the quilting part of quilting (!) will go easier for me.

As it was yesterday, by noon my shoulders were stiff and I was developing a real crick in my neck so I decided to leave the baby quilt and go to a different project.

Darling, dear husband made us smoothies for lunch. I drank while I worked. Perfect.

My daughter had requested some Easter themed pot holders. I don't have much fabric that specifically says "Easter" but the above is what she picked out of my stash. I found I had to add the beige on the bottom left hand corner as a neutral.

The fronts . . .

. . . and the backs.

It took me all afternoon to put the pot holders together and quilt them. I did the hand sewing on the binding after our dinner of leftovers which just had to be warmed up. Fishcakes, Leigh's Green Bean Caesar casserole and potato salad from the fridge.

Now, how many days until next Thursday?

6 comments:

Carolyn said...

OOOO, I love the egg pattern on the back!! I should really try doing potholders; not nearly as exhausting as a lap blanket!

Rebecca Shockley said...

oh,I love these. on that green bean thing ,do you have to use balsamic?a while back I browsed through quilts you made -there was one ,my mouth dropped to the floor-I think it was 2010 and it was for a event/ sale-the Christmas tree was made out of roses /with presents beneath it-did you get a lot for it? tell me [judy ,your to nosy.my criteria of life is what things cost,my fortae

Erin said...

Very nice! As a beginner, I get so frustrated with the length of time and monotony of machine quilting and thought I'd get better at dealing with it but you are telling me maybe not? LOL! I do love the piecing so much more, and REALLY love planning it out on paper and picking fabrics even more.

Karen L. said...

Well, looks like I have to mark my calendar to check your quilt blog on Thursdays from now on ..... well, actually more like Fridays or Saturdays depending on which day and what time you post. Anyway, what a lovely little quilt. Love the mix of colors! Oh and I not only am not that great at machine quilting (although I can stipple but it is so boring, I have a tough time deciding how to quilt the quilt, pattern-wise that is. Takes. Me. Forever. to decide. So very happy that you are back to the quilt cave on a fairly regular basis now. See, you can take time for yourself if pushed enough.

Leigh said...

Oh you talented woman you! The colors in the baby quilt are stunning. Pot holders are an excellent idea too. And about my speed!

Mama Pea Quilts said...

CR - Yepper, nothing like being able to get lickety-split through a project start to finish! That's why I like doing pot holders . . . plus I get to try out bunches of different blocks.

judy - That Christmas wall hanging you're thinking of was made for my daughter to hang on her door when she had a small office in town for her website business. She requested a different wall hanging for each season and that, obviously, was the holiday one. Thanks for the nice words about it!

Erin - Someone told me you should always drink wine while machine quilting. It keeps you from getting tense and you don't really care if you do a perfect job!

Karen L. - Yes, yes, yes! Trying to decide just HOW to quilt a quilt. I sometimes have to put a quilt up on the design wall and look at it for d-a-y-s before I can figure out what I want to do where.

Leigh - I think I'm blushing. I prefer bright colors for baby quilts . . . I figure it gives baby more eye stimulation! And pot holders are good because everybody can always use a couple of new pot holders, right?