Accepted in PIQF!!

I am bouncing off the wall - I just got my notification that Butterfly Pond has been accepted in the Pacific International Quilt Festival! I have been trying not to think about it, and when the envelope arrived today I was afraid to open it - but I did! Wowwee!!! Now I am all nervous about getting it packaged up and shipped off - and I need to change the sleeve on it. Plus all the double checking of loose threads.... I just don't know what to do first! Actually first I need to get it ready to hang in our Guild show this weekend, then worry about the rest. I am so happy right now I can't even express it - I am so glad I took the risk of just entering my quilt, anything beyond this is just icing on the cake.

More Fair Results...2006 Coos County Fair

My other blue ribbon winner was Butterfly Pond. I got some really nice comments from the judge, so I am really happy with that! I've been using the scraps from this quilt to make some really neat postcards. I have some for sale, just check out the quilts for sale link on the side of the page.

I'm also working on a tote bag from the scraps (I had a lot of left-overs from this quilt, and they were so pretty I figured I had to make something out of them!) I got about half of it machine quilted last night, but was really struggling with thread breaking. 

After some internet research this morning, I think I am going to give my machine a good cleaning, check the tension settings, change the needle (yes, a novel concept for sure) and do a test run. I suspect part of it is that I am just using good old Coats and Clark thread and my Juki does regular sewing ok with it, but doesn't really like it for quilting. But, I do like the colors I have and want to finish with them. Last time I was having this trouble a good cleaning did the trick, that was just last week, though. You never can tell though. All it takes is one stray thread to throw everything off!

Finished project!

I've been on a quilting spree lately, and have finished the #2 of the Pick 4 Challenge early! I am very, very happy with the way it came out. It is very heavily quilted. I did a McTavishing technique in the strip sections and borders, then echo quilted in the butterfly fabrics. I washed it before binding it and it made a huge difference in the feel and look of the quilt. By washing it, I reduced the appearance of irregularity in my echo quilting, and it took the stiffness out of the machine quilting. I am soo excited to get this done, and am thinking of entering it in a couple of shows this year!


My main obstacle is getting good pictures, but I have a friend that owes me a big favor, so I think I may have to call that in.

Will add more close up pictures later, the first ones I shot didn't come out very well.

The next project I am doing is hand quilting the paper pieced lighthouse miniature. It's not easy, but I really want to enter it in the hand quilted category as the machine quilted category is so full that nothing really gets noticed.

It doesn't really need a lot of quilting, thank goodness - the piecing is really more of the beautry of this quilt and a lot of quilting would really detract from that.


Here's looking forward to another week of productive quilting!