Third Weekend in October - Done!

Third Weekend in October - pieced by C. Sharp

Ohhhh, this finish feels GOOD. This quilt was shipped to me from Kentucky and I got it in October - I quilted and quilted and quilted and quilted .... And my machine broke.

There were a lot of tears. And I played musical machines until I finally got a little Babylock that could help finish up this beautiful and HUGE quilt. The picture is taken with the quilt on my queen sized bed and there is a huge drop on either side. The measurements are 86x104 according to the pattern but it just felt endless when I was quilting it.

I feel like I'm repeating myself -- but the colours and fabrics in this quilt are absolutely amazing. You really notice it when you have your nose to the needle for hours! Now that I have added all that thread it has a lovely texture too.

I used Superior Bottom Line, Aurifil 50wt, and some Gutermann. I was counting the numbers of bobbins I went through but I lost count and lost the paper I was making the note on. I'm sure in yellow and red alone I used 7 bobbins each of Bottom Line - which is thin 60wt thread so a bobbin holds much more than normal weight cotton. 

Soon it will be in the mail back to Carol. I guess I'll just have to make my own ...

"Please don't send it back ... Mine?"

Quilt Helpers 101

Quilt Helpers 101, originally uploaded by sailbit.

I'm sure you have seen this delightful quilting notion in use before --- but this might be a new task for yours.

Eliminate tangling of your piecing chains by using the elevated surface of the tool to stack the sewn pieces. If your quilting tool (also called a CAT) is well trained to help you in your fabric adventures, he won't move at all until he is completely buried.

Happy Quilting! =^.^=

Single Irish Chain - Back

Single Irish Chain - Back, originally uploaded by sailbit.

Here is a sneak peek of my Sashiko-inspired quilting along my Single Irish Chain. The top is cream with scrappy oriental fabrics forming the chain, so I thought a dark navy backing would make it all look pretty neat.

The quilt inspector approves.

So far I'm enjoying the chain motif - I'm not sure whether to call it an orange peel, a cathedral window, or 'round shaped seven treasures'. Who knows! I seem to have found a way that is comfortable to move along the chains for FMQ and that's a big deal; less stress on the arms and shoulders means more quilting!

But you know with all that lovely creamy muslin space --- I'm just going to have to do feathers.

Homemade Forts Are Great Fun

Last night I finished the last stretch of quilting on the border pieces of my Amish roses --- all 20 feet of feather and cable twist quilting done! Which left many many more feet of hand stitching the backing pieces together. Ick.

But with the end in sight I have been diligently stitching away, and I have gradually come to nickname the quilt "Frankenstein" -- partially because that is what my stitches remind me of, and partially because this quilt is for a friend named Shelley (the story of Frankenstein of course was written by Mary Shelley). My stitches have improved since I draped the quilt up on my quilting frame. But they got a little wobbly when my inspectors showed up and set me to giggling ...

Yep, that is my daughter using my draped quilt as a fort. While wearing a folded FQ on her head as a hat. Playing with some "My Little Ponies" and my other Quilt Inspector.

It didn't help my progress at all but it sure was funny!

Fabric Prayer --- doing it right!

"Please bow your heads in a moment of silence, that we may send thanks to the Quilting Goddess for her gift of this batik fabric we are about to cut. May she also keep our blades and scissors sharp, our cuts straight, our fingers nimble and our colours bright. Amen!"

~My Cat Ozzy

Workspace & The Cat

For 5 years now I have been owned by a male Siamese cat named Ozzy. For those of you who are not animal lovers, or who have not experienced that special bond I call "animal soul mate" ... just skip to the pictures.

Ozzy is my best buddy, my snuggler, my Quilt Inspector, my constant companion. Siamese cats do tend to get a bad rap (remember those two nasty cats in Lady & The Tramp??) but I have to say it is completely undeserved. They are intelligent, loving, loyal, and very very curious (not to mention beautiful IMNSHO). In a lot of ways they are like a dog --- but with those silly quirks that are included in all feline nature.

Like, wanting to be the recipient of your undivided attention --- when they feel like it. Wanting to be underfoot, or "on project". They like to frisk and play with fabric you would rather they never touch ... and sometimes they get the dog involved. They are also imbued with a 6th sense for seeking out the position that is 1) the warmest 2) most comfortable 3) most inconvenient for their human pets.

It is not too often that I manage to take a quilt picture he is NOT in, or sit at my sewing table without having him sneak into a position of comfort.

To illustrate: