Listening to Your Quilt Talk

Do your quilts talk to you?  Mine sure talk to me!  I usually start out with a pretty good idea of how I want the quilt I am working on to go together, and sometimes that's just how it works.  More often than not, however, the quilt decides that it has it's own plan.  When I started this one, I had in mind to quilt it in a pattern of overlapping boxes.  As I was pressing the finished top, however, I noticed that the print in the sashing had little swirls that overlapped.  The design looked really familiar to me, so I got out my copy of Angela Walters book Free Motion Quilting and found what I was looking for - concentric circles!

 I really love the how the circles look on this geometric quilt!  It really adds great interest to the quilt and looks so great.  They were fun to quilt too - not super hard and I didn't get myself stuck too many times!

It was fun to get this quilt done over just a few days, I just love a little instant (almost) gratification!  I guess it pays to listen when your quilt decides to talk to you!

This pattern is my original design - CityScape.  I made this baby size quilt using 7 different music theme fabrics with teal sashing and royal blue cornerstones.  It's going to Threads That Bind as a shop sample for a while and will eventually be for sale in my Etsy Shop.  It measures 38 by 48 and is a fast and easy quilt to make!

WIP

I can't believe I haven't posted in three weeks!  After spending the  Fourth of July being miserably sick, it seems like I have spent the next couple of weeks working my tail off getting a couple of custom orders completed and not having time for anything else!  I am so excited to have all my big projects done and to be able to work on some projects that I want to work on!  The cat quilt below is a top my sister made for me, and it is my July UFO project.  It is basted and ready to quilt, so I hope to get that finished up this week - this is going to be a lap quilt to take in the car with me on trips.  I just love the cat print and how it is put together - Sis, you did a nice job on this one!

This quilt is a shop sample in my CityScapes pattern.  I wasn't too sure if I really liked the blocks, but once I got the sashing and cornerstones on, I loved it!  This one is up for quilting after the cat quilt, I think I'm going to try doing an overlapping design with boxes.  Should be interesting....

And here is my June UFO Challenge.  Another Asian panel quilt.  This one had plain cornerstones, so was simpler to quilt.  I remembered to add the sleeve before I sewed the binding, so all I had to do was hand-stitch one side of it (wish I would remember all the time, really makes it easier).

Here is the finished quilt!  Came out very pretty and now is available for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Do you do hand quilting?  I still do some, and I have been pushing to get a quilt done that I've been working on for way too long, now.  (Let's just say that menopause is not helpful....between hot flashes and bi-focals, I have had an interesting time adjusting!)  I really do love stitching by hand, it is very calming.  And the results are so beautiful!

I like hand quilting with regular quilting thread.  I really love working with contrasting thread, but not on this quilt, it needs to be more traditional.  I've done some Big Stitch quilting with Perle Cotton, but I thought it was difficult to pull the thread through.  The look was pretty neat, though, and it was really quick to do.  Overall, I'd have to say I prefer the traditional method.  When this one is done I have a green and white Grandmother's Flower Garden to do.  Then I think I'll do one of my own!

No matter whether you quilt by machine or hand, enjoy what you do!  Check out the Quiltsy Team Blog here for more WIP posts, and see what other quilters think about hand stitching.

Wednesday WIPS - Making Progress!

Still plugging away at the free-form bargello - got another strip set done today.  I should be able to get this top done by the weekend, so I'm happy with my progress on this project.  I'm still a little nervous about if I'm going to have the size I want with the borders, but if I have to add some creativity to make it work, I will!

I got the UFO for June basted.  I didn't have a piece of batting large enough, but I did have one that was twice as long, but not as wide.  I cut it in half, then used some strips of lightweight fusible interfacing to bond the two pieces together and created the perfect size batting.  It shouldn't be too long of a process to quilt this, so I hope to have this done in the next few days for sure.  It's about time - I need something new in my Etsy shop!  I found a picture online of the same scene - it's called the Golden Pavilion, so beautiful!

And I finished up my block for the Block of the Month I am doing for the quilt shop.  The pattern is printed up and ready to go, too - so I'm happy I have this done on time.  Seems like I've been running way behind on this - had it designed long ago, but it's taken me longer than I should have taken to get all the samples and instructions finished up.  I swear, next time I will have the whole thing done beforehand.  I really don't need the last minute pressure of creating the pattern every single month!  It is good practice, though....

Nothing really finished this week, but lots of things "in progress", so at least I'm keeping busy!