Circle Dance binding dilemma

     Well, I did it. The queen size Circle Dance is all quilted. I used Glide thread on my Bailey Home Quilter. I used adapted designs from The Inbox Jaunt and Leah Day. Now, I am trying to decide the color of the binding. I have narrowed it down to three choices.
    This has to be done, under the tree (which is not cut down yet), by Christmas.

Progress was sometimes impeded by my beta tester

Why are all these machines in my way?

Multicolor hand dye

Batik colorwash

Batik print

Finishes in the Sun

    In order to photo the quilts, I have not been able to find a good place outside. While my husband was sanding the garage and priming it, I realized I could put some nails in the little room off the garage and use bulldog clips on the quilts and hang them on nails. It is not elegant, but neither am I. I just want good light and room to photo. I did this once, and then my husband pulled the nails out to prime it. So, I pounded in the nails again, and hung two finishes.
    The crumb attic windows quilt is all done. Love using those scraps.

      I needed to make a grandson a new truck quilt. The fleece one I made him, he refuses to give it up even on hot nights making him a sweatball. I previously posted the truck fabric I bought from fabric.com. Since we needed it in a hurry, I used two yards of one fabric on the front and two yards of a different truck fabric on the back. I wanted it wider when he goes in to a twin bed instead of the youth one he is in. I used some yellow fabric that reminds of the color of construction signs and vehicles. I quilted it on the Bailey and used a zig zag pattern from the Inbox Jaunt. It looked terrific, like tire tracks. After a striped binding, I gave it to him yesterday and hope he had a good night's sleep.

Work, work, work = fun, fun, fun

   Lots of different things going on. I labeled and bagged all my UFOs and put them standing up in a bin under the counter. I sewed all the blocks for the You've Got Mail quilts. One layer cake made 2 quilts, 4 blocks by 5. I tried to use all the cool color ones in one, and the mostly warm in the other. It was grey today, so I don't know how well I did. I used blue painters tape and labeled all the rows so I could stack them for sewing. One fit on the design wall, and I had to lay the other on the floor.

The warmer blocks

Cooler blocks

      All finished quilting Emma's Star! Ready to put in a tote bag and wait for someone who needs it. I have another one (Emma's Star) all cut out waiting to piece. I used patterns from Free Motion Quilting. Thank you, Leah Day. I would never be able to be the quilter I am today without your tutorials and blog! The designs I used were Bubble Wand, Flowing Lines, and Basic Chevron. I bought her book and use it to plan out what I am going to use on a quilt. Then I go to her site and watch the video to practice it out. I started using Isacord because of her, but now I also use Glide because it is USA made and works so well.
     I also want to thank Lori from The Inbox Jaunt for excellent FMQ tutorials that I have used at times.  And for sheer production of comfort quilts, Sarah is the queen to me at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Emma's Star

     I finally found fabric for my daughter's tote. It is probably not the first color choice she would take, but I think the design is and I think the color goes with her hair and being a chemistry college professor at Allegheny College (read proud mom).  The tote is going to be a challenge for me. It has a zipper (gasp) and I have to change up the pattern (yikes).

Local Quilt Store fabric comes through

     Last, I would like to show I finished the Christmas cactus watercolor. I always enjoy Wanda's photos of her cactus and I told her I would post a photo of this when done. I owe her gratitude for her knowledge and kindness to me.

That Magic Moment

    Don't leave me out here by myself, but there comes a point in creating a quilt that it becomes a quilt- not a collection of fabrics, batting and thread- but a cohesive whole thing- an object who is more than the sum of its parts. It moves differently and feels different. This usually happens at some point when the binding is being sewn on. It starts to drape differently going through the machine and has a different kind of body- sort of sculptural. It is the magic moment. Today, sewing the 3 dudes quilt binding, it happened when I was sewing the binding, when I was sewing on the front, catching the back of the binding, about 8 inches into it. I just stop and marvel. No matter what the front looks like, now it is a quilt. Awesome.
   Pieced on a Singer 301, quilted on another 301, binding sewn on a Singer 401.
   All I have left is to put the pockets on the tote bag and pack it. I will wash both the quilt and the bag, then sew the pockets on as the bag really shrinks and would pucker the pockets. The clean quilt, bag, book and card will be put in a plastic bag, waiting to be given to the recipient.

Borders quilted with Squiggle Square, courtesy The Inbox Jaunt

Flip side, Back corner

Back of quilt, fabric donated by Esta

Bits and pieces of work

    Because I need to get some comfort quilts done, I have been piecing and quilting to get at least two done. The piecing is for Emma's Star. I have done one before, I get impatient doing the sashing, but the blocks are easy. Sewing the diagonal rows is an exercise in concentration. It is a beautiful pattern. It needs the rows sewn together now. Have to add borders yet to make it big enough.

 

    The quilt I finished the quilting on is one from Missouri Star Quilt Company, see tutorial. Real easy, I added more strips to make bigger blocks.

Squiggle Square Pattern from The Inbox Jaunt

  Once I get the binding on, I will show the whole quilt.