Quilted Tree Skirt...

So I stayed up late and got the skirt quilted.  It did involve a lot of marking, but the sewing was surprisingly easy and relaxing.  I picked a center point in the circle and then connected to a mark along the edge of the quilt.  Since the top was 36" square, I marked every 2" along the edge.  I backstitched at each beginning and end....this is wash out marker...I just didn't have time to learn to stipple, though that has now moved up on my list of things to do.  I really wanted to just send it to a longarmer, but I persevered.  This sort of quilting is a big pain on the longarm...but perfect for a regular sewing machine.  ;-D  A decent choice...

 After I finished I soaked it in the washer, cold water, let it spin and then took it to the dryer.  I was admiring my work when I noticed some BLEEDING from a red.  Well, all the pieces from one particular red shirt.  Bleeding to the front, back and anywhere it touched during the spin cycle.  PANIC!!  I Spray 'N Washed the affected areas, rewashed it, mostly by hand, and got out the bleeding.  Then into the dryer with a few big fluffy towels so dry.  I did end up with a little bleeding on the back side, but you don't need to see that!  The front looks good.  The scary part is that I know I used that particular shirt fabric in my big Christmas quilt that is at the quilter right now.  Darn it....that will trouble for years to come.  Maybe I'll get some Retayne (or whatever that product is that prevents bleeding).  I have color catcher sheets....but the problem is when the top is spinning and sending out dye to everypart that it touches....not really "free floating" dye in the water.  It just needs to be bound and it will be done!  I was leaning toward a red binding (will I ever learn??)....

While we were watching Robin Hood, and then a few episodes of Modern Family, we set out the pieces for the fruit/veggie quilt.  It will only be 51" by 51" when it is finished.  But then we had to stay up late pinning it so the dog wouldn't destroy it!  My design wall is the carpet in my living room!!! It is definitely very festive...

Well, that is all I have to share.  I need to check out the other quilts from the quilt along.  Have a nice Sunday!

Quilting Along....Update #2

Well, I have 3/8 of the tree skirt quilted.  Check it out.  I'm going to mark the rest and then quilt when Ryan goes in the shower.  It is movie night and he doesn't like it when I sew and distrub the movie.  Darn picky kids!!  LOL....Who is this fat girl quilting on the tree skirt?  Why, that is me?  I must diet.... ;-)

On to more marking!!!

Two finishes....and an adult beverage!

So we have two finishes for today....first, the purple/aqua quilt came back from Merrie Berrie Quilting.  She did an allover pattern (she doesn't panto...don't be jealous of her skills!! LOL)....I had it bound in three days!!  It has been washed and dried and mailed out to NY!!! 

Then, Rebecca finished clipping the Syracuse quilt and it got washed and all raggy...

I had to whip up the adult beverage to get me through the quilting on this tree skirt.  I'm doing radiating lines from the center...all must be marked, then sewn.  ;-D

Yep, wild cherry Kool-Aid.  How cool is it when you are old enough to make Kool-Aid in the winter??

Anyhow, I'm back to quilting.  Another post later to see my progress!!!

Christmas Quilt Along--tree skirt!

So I drug out the tree skirt that I made in September and I basted it.  My plan is to quilt it on my Juki.  Here is my proof....

But I usually send my stuff to a longarmer and I'm baffled by this idea.  Maybe just straight lines?  Or cross-hatching?  Or I could practice some stippling and try that?  Hmmm....so here it sits!!! I must run a couple of errands but I'll come back to it later today--I've been sick this weekend so I have a lot to catch up on!!!

Oh yeah, dogs like Butterscotch suckers...at least Buddy does!!  I always get the "beggin' paw" (one paw raised so he is standing on 3 legs) when he wants something.  The first pic is when he wanted pizza...then the sucker!

He has us so well trained.  And NO, I didn't put the sucker back in my mouth.  YES, we did brush his teeth after that snack.  NO, we don't frequently feed him candy....But it was sort of cute! 

No, it's not gay pride...but it is fruity!!!

Oh my....I need to come out of the closet about something.  I've bought fabric recently while on my moratorium.  Yes, I suck.  Yes, it was a lie of omission.  But here it is in all it's glory.....fruit/veggie fabric!!!

This fruit stand fabric was just calling my name the other day at the Christmas Goose.  I bought about half of it there, then ordered more online from Fabric Paradise.  This will make the cutest little wall hanging for my classroom in the spring.  I have 16 different prints....Any idea for a quilt pattern?  It has to fit in a 48" by 48" space.  And I don't want the pieces to be so small that you can't tell what fruit/veggie it is...I was thinking about some sort of rainbow rail fence??  Hmmm....I'll work something out in EQ and let you know....But if anyone has a killer idea, please let me know.  I could even do an "around the world" type of quilt....I have 1/2 yard of each fabric....Maybe that is the winning ticket?

And I must also come out of the closet about the anime fabric I purchased.  I don't have a picture, but I did buy about 8 yards of fabric to make an anime quilt.  And because I'm working on my Valentine quilt, and I didn't buy any fabric for that, I feel slightly OK about my purchases.

I determined that the deal with my daughter, as depressing as it is, probably sparked the fabric buying binge.  I was doing just fine until that point, then I sort of went a little crazy.  But I'm back on track now...back on the wagon, as they say!  ;-D  Happy quilting.....

Christmas quilt top FINISHED!

Last weekend, on Halloween, I was busy piecing together this top that I've been working on in the Christmas Quilt-Along.  It is all made from vintage shirts....

Here is Ryan enjoying some time with Buddy...

I've been cutting strips for my Valentine quilt.  Hopefully I'll get some more done today and I can begin sewing soon.  I also must confess that I bought some fabric online.  I'll share more of that later. ;-D  So much for the moratorium!!!

Today is the baby shower for a colleague so I've been busy making games, buying prizes, cooking and preparing appetizers, etc.  Thankfully I already had the gifts made!  I hope you all get some sewing time in today....Happy Quilting!!

Be nice to your longarmer... :-D

Let me tell you what inspired this post.  I used to be a longarmer--I've owned several longarm machines and quilted for others as well as myself.  Honestly, I hated quilting for others.  It is very difficult to see a quilting design in some quilts...they just don't sing to you.  Or the piecer has one idea for quilting and you have another.  Or you can't execute what they want done....or you can do it, but it will take so long that you will never make any money at it.  Etc, etc, etc.  Longarming is a very difficult business...unruly quilt tops, clients, tension/machine issues, low pay, etc.  And do you know how much stress there is when you are trying to figure out what is going to make the customer happy....what if they don't like it?  Ack...stress, stress, and more stress!!

Here is a fact:  one minute of longarm quilting can take up to 15 minutes to remove (if you mess up and have to frog, or rip out, the stitches).  Nobody pays you to remove errant stitches....Honestly, I think I made less than $5 per hour quilting.  I'm not joking.  And I needed to pay off a $17,000 machine, and all the supplies that go with it, etc.  My point is that quilting is not just a "fun hobby" turned profit.  Quilters work hard to make quilts that are beautiful, affordable, and durable. 

Today, I was speaking with a longarmer friend of mine in another state (she quilted the two tops above).  I've been sending her quilts for years...probably 10 years or so.  Her work is wonderful...she is very accomplished and she can look at a quilt and know just what to do with it.  I trust her and have never been disappointed in her work.  Her tension is always "spot on" and her designs are executed with ease.  I love her work!  She has a distinctive style that works for me....Today she called me because she received a quilt that I sent her in the mail.  But she was distressed because a client wrote her a nasty e-mail complaining about the quilting that she had done on a quilt.

The piecer requested "all feathers" and the longarmer told her that because of some elements in the quilt top, "all feathers" wouldn't be possible so she suggested another option.  The piecer agreed...but then came unglued when she received the top back in the mail (she mailed it to the longarmer in another state).  The longarmer feels hurt, and shocked, because she thought they both had agreed to the quilting plan.  She is worried she might not get paid...and she is upset that the piecer is not happy with the quilting.  Picking out all the quilting on the top and quilting it again is not possible.  Apparantly, the e-mail was alarmingly mean.

My thoughts:  it is just a quilt top.  Yes, it might take a long time to make the top...and yes, you might have a vision and it might not be perfectly what you want.  But it is what it is.  I've had a top quilted with the wrong panto.  I've had a top quilted with a brand of thread that is so thin that it actually broke in several places while the quilter was quilting...the only thing holding the "sort of" quilting lines together is the Super Glue that I applied to glue the quilting to the top and prevent a massive unraveling.  I've personally picked a color thread that ended up being way too dark and made the quilting look like crap.  I've thought that "variegated" thread was so cool and found out the hard way that it made the quilting look choppy.  So I've experienced my fair share of crappy quilting...but we still love those quilts and they adorn my sofa and Buddy doesn't give a care about the quilting (or the piecing for that matter).  Try out different quilters until you find one with a style your appreciate.  Or use one for pantos, a different one for custom...a different one if you need one super fast, etc.  Tell your longarmer what you want...and if she can't do it, get your top back and go somewhere else.  She'd want you to be happy...she wouldn't be insulted, and she might even be relieved that she doesn't feel pressured to do something that she can't/won't be able to execute.  It is only a quilt top....

So don't sweat the small stuff!!  And it is all small stuff....

Just my two cents....