project quilting 11.6

Well, folks, it's finished.

It still may be the ugliest thing I've ever made, but it's done.

I started out with good intentions.  Those bright striped fabrics seemed perfect for a "Vibrant and Vivacious" project.  And turning them into beach umbrellas?  What could go wrong?

Plenty, it seems.

Yes, the stripes match well.  Thank you for noticing.  That went surprisingly well.

But I made hexagons, not octagons, which posed an extra challenge to get them into a square or rectangle that would be easier to sew into a quilt.  I learned how to do it, so good news there, but I will not be attempting this again any time soon.

I chose a darker tan than maybe I should have.  I was using what I had (part of the challenge to myself, never mind whatever form of quarantine your particular area is under) and I thought it would be okay.  Turns out it kinda dragged the whole thing under even further.

I thought quilting it would save things.  I decided against my standard swirls early, but until yesterday morning wasn't sure what would replace them.  And then it hit me - echoed straight lines would be kinda fun.  Those are best controlled using my little machine.  Using my "walking foot" that sometimes works better than others.

So I pressed the back fabric and smoothed it out on the floor, atop an old sheet, and went to get my spray baste.  PFFTTT...end.  I had no spray baste.  On a normal day, I might run up the road to buy more.  Or not.  That would require real pants and on a "normal" day, I might not want to put them on.  Add in a self-quarantine request and I decided to pin baste.  Not as good, but I have pins.  And they don't run out, clog up or smell bad, no matter what brand you choose.

Freddie has never seen pin basting.  What is mom doing crawling around on the floor?  And WHAT ARE THESE SHINY THINGS!?!?!?!  Needless to say, I did a little more smoothing of layers than maybe expected.  But the quilt is small, so it didn't take too long, even with furry help.

My friend Colette convinced me to quilt this with two colors of thread.  Using a lighter weight (50) made it go through my machine just fine, though the pink showed up a lot less than the lime green.  (I decided to use obnoxiously bright colors because I can't hardly ruin this any more, can I?)  And the walking foot behaved fairly well.  The heavier the quilt, the bigger the struggle, no matter how much I support and maneuver things.  There are a few places on the back where, had I quilted closer, there would be puckers.  Now it's just kinda poofy.  But it's the back, so whatever.

In a couple of hours, I was done.  Again, small quilt, so it didn't take too long.  And I took plenty of breaks to make sure my arms didn't get too tired.  Also to pet the cats.  Always pet the cats.

And then I sewed down the machine side of the binding and headed downstairs to do the hand-sewn side.  With help, of course.  Nothing is done around here without inspection and laying-on-it help.  Finn is becoming particularly adept at the laying-on-it task.  Or laying on the hands that are trying to do the things.  And while doing so, he lets out a loud squeak-purr so you are sure to love him more.

Anyways, eventually it was done and I sprayed with water to get the blue marking lines and let it dry overnight and then took it outside into the cold for a photo shoot.  A short one because everything is grey and cloudy and cold and windy today.  (Come ON spring!)  I think this is the first outside photo in a while that I have felt the need to color edit because it wasn't true.

But there you have it, my entry for this challenge.  And no cat photos this time.  Sorry.

I hope you all are staying happily at home.  My life has changed very little with this new lifestyle.  I will be cooking more meals (and may have to institute the two-bite rule with my picky hubby) and thinking a little harder about running out for simple things (like spray baste), but otherwise I'm content.  The hubby is scheduled to have next week off (he takes this week off every year for his birthday), but I'm not sure if employee shortages will have him working after all.  We're rolling with what comes and trying to stay positive.  And hoping for warmer weather soon so yard cleanup can commence - keeping your hands busy helps keep your mind calm!

And with that, I'm off to finally finish binding the blue quilt I quilted a few weeks ago.  Two bouts of the crud have put me behind, but today is a good day to stay inside, snuggle under a quilt and do something productive from there!

Happy quilting,

Katie

PS I forgot to say, this measures about 30x31"