It’s Tuesday and I’m adding a short extra bit of information before you read about Feel Good Quilting. I have the great honor to be this month’s Featured Quilter on the National Quilting Association website. The NQA is a wonderful quilting organization. They put on a great quilt show each year and do much charitable and educational work in the quilt world. Please go to: http://nqaquilts.org/ to read all about it, then return here for the rest of the post :-)!
So now for “Feel Good Quilting”
Last summer I was very excited about purchasing my new HQ Sweet Sixteen mid-arm machine. I’ve since found that watching an infant 5 days a week really decreases time for quilting. This weekend I decided I just needed to make time …. and I did! Prior to our trip to Italy Wendy and I held a class for making a “Tuscan Sun” block and everyone was given instructions for autograph blocks to be exchanged on the trip. Well, I bordered my sun with the blocks, pinned the layers together and was ready to go. I really was in the mood for free motion fun, so I looked at the top and asked myself “what do I feel like stitching today?”
My first urge was to stitch some feathers, which I chose to place in the rays of the sun.
Then I was in the mood to “bubble” the sun’s interior.
So now how to quilt the background behind the sun? Add more rays! I took a ruler and a sliver of soap (my favorite marking tool) and I drew lines on the background that radiated from the center of the sun and then I used those lines as a guide to keep the rays shining. It was even more of a good time than I imagined it would be and because I was enjoying the process it was done almost too soon.
For the first border I decided to play with a design I hadn’t tried before. Laura Wasilowski refers to it as ME ME quilting (because it sort of looks like M’s and E’s) and it was a blast! Once again I marked some boundaries with the soap and I was off and running.
The MEME’s went through the center of the inside border, so what to do around it? I decided straight lines in yellow would work (remember I don’t need a good reason, it’s all about what feels like fun at the moment :-)). Now my Babylok with a walking foot does a much better job of straight lines then I do in free motion, so I changed the feet and jumped in using my “3 pin technique” to prevent puckers. I’ve covered this in a past post. Click here to read about it.
All that’s left now is the outer border. How would you quilt it?
I’m not sure what I’ll do and the Packer game is about to begin, so this post will remain a cliff hanger until next week. Go Pack Go!!!
Rose says
Love it! A Sweet 16 is showing up this week and I can’t wait.
Judy says
Chris, Love what you’ve done. This is my most favorite part of the whole process of making a quilt but to be honest I enjoy every step.
I would put Angela Walter’s overlapping swirls in the last border. They look really neat and are fun to do.
I too have a new granddaughter to watch along with her brother (2 1/2) but only one day a week….enough to wear me out!
Happy Quilting! Judy
Sylvia Lewis says
Unfortunately I bought my machine from a dealer in Ohio so didn’t get a class. (I saved money by buying a demo machine – dumb idea.) I quilted one bed sized quilt a year ago. It went pretty well but I still don’t feel very confident about adjusting the tension. Guess I’ll just have to experiment! I just bought the new slider table cover and I’m anxious to try it out. Do you have one?
Sylvia
clkquilt says
That’s a good reason to buy locally. The service and opportunities for education are worth a lot. I haven’t tried the Slider, please let me know what you think!
Joyce Hach says
Congratulations, Chris, on the NQA honor. You are so deserving of it.