Getting the Hang of It
I’m almost done with the sea glass quilt. I quilted the second half today, and joined the two halves together. Now all I have to do is quilt across the middle seam, and bind the quilt. (I wrote about auditioning stitches and quilting the first half, but none of that really comes into today’s post,)
I love those batiks!
I started this quilt three or four years ago, right after my mom gave me her sewing machine. After I started it, I saw a lot of other designs that appealed to me more, and I moved on.
Picking it back up wasn’t easy. I had used all kinds of different fabric for the blocks – some of it was puckered or too loosely woven. Even though I had used a lot of pre-cut strips from a jellyroll of batiks, I hadn’t cut the lengths carefully. The block sizes varied, and so did the seam directions. Now I know to choose similar types of fabric, press the seams uniformly, and trim the blocks to square them up. When I thought of working with those irregular blocks from a few years ago, it seemed like starting over with new blocks would be a lot easier.
But I like to finish things, and I thought I could at least practice free-motion quilting.
I used to just stick to straight stitching, but I am really getting to like swirling around with free-motion – I don’t have to drag the quilt all the way through the machine with each seam, turn it, and repeat; I can put more quilting in each block and move the quilt gradually.
My stitching went more smoothly on this part of the quilt, but I noticed that I made fewer, bigger spirals in each block. I wish I had measured the average size of the spirals in the first half, and tried to duplicate it in the second half.
I also learned that I need to keep better records – a lot of times I think I’ll get back to an unfinished project the next day, but something comes up. By the time I get back to it, weeks or months later, I’ve forgotten what size the pieces should be or what settings I was using on the sewing machine. I would save myself a lot of time if I wrote down the details – and then if I could find what I had written!
I think it looks beautiful. I love the mix of blocks and the vibrant colours.
Thanks! It’s a little more muted and pastel in real life. I think it’s a little boring – I might add a little applique over the corners of some of the blocks later. Or maybe I will just choose to see it as “restful” instead of “boring!” 🙂
Sometimes we need a little something soft on the eyes. Restful is good.
You are right about records. I have the same challenge when i leave a project for a while. I tried a few different option but have ended up raking a photo at the end of each sewing session and i keep an exercise book that I write things like the stitch type and settings, piece or block sizes and other things I forget if I leave a project for a while. It simple, low maintenance and seems to work.
What
What a good idea! I take pictures as I lay out the blocks, so that if I have to move them, I can remember how I wanted to place them, but I need to record the measurements and machine settings too.
It’s absolutely beautiful.
Thank you! I love putting the colors together.
Very pretty! The fabrics are beautiful. Now, aren’t you glad you finished it? I agree with you about better record keeping. I hate that brain-dead feeling when I pull out an old project and try to remember “What was I thinking?”
Yeah, and for me it’s not “What was I thinking?” like, “Was I going to put the blue next to the red?” It’s “What was I thinking?!” like, “Why on earth did I think that this small amount of blue was enough for an entire quilt? Why did I think that using different kinds of batting in one quilt would work? How on earth did I trim one whole row to be an inch skinnier than all the other rows?”
Oh well, lessons learned…
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I have three unfinished quilts. I’m hoping to get one completed this week. I love free motion quilting; it’s always intimidating in the beginning, but once i get started it’s liberating! Your blog is so inspirational!
Thanks for the compliment!
You’re right about the free motion quilting – once I get started I get into the zone and can keep going a long time. But I have to gear myself up to get started – I can’t just pick it up for a few minutes like I can knitting or weaving.