It doesn't help that I just got this beautiful batik jelly roll in the mail from my mom!!
It is so colorful and I think it might look neat with the bright sarong I have been saving for a quilt for my sister Caroline.
I've saved this piece of fabric for years with the intention of making it into a blanket for her. She is going to graduate soon and she is a Geology major so the big Earth seems fitting, plus the rainbows and "happy hippie" theme have always made me think of her free and cheerful spirit.
My little baby girl quilt has stalled because I don't have a back for it. I found this great vintage polka dot sheet but it just isn't the right color. If only it were pink!
Other projects in the works are my hexagon practice piece and my reclaimed "tacky quilt", both of which I have all the materials for and also a definite plan on how to finish them up, so at least those two projects could get completed first. I blogged about these two quilts in my last post.
Also in the works is my huge Forest Queen quilt. The top is done but I have no idea how to go about quilting it on my little machine. I am considering paying someone to Long-Arm quilt it.
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| Forest Queen Top Finished |
Really, a stretch of free time and a little inspiration is all I need to make some serious progress. In between transporting a goat this weekend, singing practice, work, gardening, milking and feeding the animals every day, taking care of my son, and recovering from my recent dance with pneumonia, somehow sewing and crafting still manage to happen! Every day is a miracle.
We found a little baby bird in the grass today. They start showing up around this time, in the driveway and around the yard. Baby birds have no fear and you can go right up to them and even stroke their feathers. This is why we don't have a cat, even though I love kitties, the wild things are the ones that belong.
Your Forest Green top would be so easy to finish yourself with making a sandwich and then hand quilt it with big quilting stitches or hand quilted traditional or you can tie it up and it stays just the same as any other way and then you could hand quilt later. just some thoughts, I too got desparate once and paid $274 for a queen size, so its pricey to pay for it. Good to see you met up with a baby bird, its so cute! And I notice that you've got into a real spring with green grass etc.
ReplyDeleteHand quilting it is a fabulous idea! For some reason I hadn't even thought of doing that, I was so stumped on how I was going to squish it into my machine. Time to get a big quilting hoop! And yes I am so happy to welcome Spring, I hear that you had snow but hey... at least we aren't on the east coast today!
DeleteThere is a method to machine quilting those big quilts. I think I have this right (and hope your machine - little tho it be - can handle this). Roll up the quilt in a tight roll - some people use bicycle clips to hold it. You unroll just enough to fit for stitching. You will roll in that sewn end as well after you quilt. So - you will have both ends rolled into the middle (clips on both sides) as you go, rolling and clipping as you go. Does this make sense? Aunt Susie explained this to me years ago - hope I remembered it correctly. Maybe the internet has explanation with pics -BUT of course, hand quilting would be so special!
ReplyDeleteThere are some good tutorials for how to do this online. I quilted David's robot blanket in that same fashion, but it was much smaller. There is a craftsy class about how to sew a quilt of any size on a small machine (as in, a normal machine and not a long arm), so I'm sure it could be done. Bicycle clips is a great idea! I've even seen a lot of people using little clips now in place of pins to hold things like bindings together.
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