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Archive for the ‘Machine Quilting’ Category

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Work Under Construction

Friday, November 28th, 2008

First, I want to let all my potential patrons know that this piece is available on the SAQA reverse auction site. Today the price is $750. The price goes down $100 a day until the last day,when the price is $75. This is the third and final week. There are lots of great pieces available.

We had a great meal yesterday. Miles discovered Pecan Pie and loved it. I had to send the leftovers home with him. He is so darn cute. In his first grade class, they can volunteer to be expert teachers about something. He has already done paper airplanes. He also wants to teach them about Greek Letters and Roman Numerals and how to draw paper airplanes which is apparently a lot different than making them. Mia is all about Christmas coming and wanted to make sure that I was getting a tree so that she can help me decorate it.

I fell asleep watching TV last night, but I feel renewed today. I weighed in at WW and did not gain too much.

I finished piecing the Jerusalem Cross quilt. I really like this. I like that it will be such a nice counterpoint to the more abstract work that I do. I am not sure how I will quilt it. Very simply, I think. It is about 51 inches square. I matched my points quite well.

I also started quilting the Dead Sea piece. I love how it is looking. I had purchased some gorgeous brown, white and aqua Superior thread at the quilt show in August, and it is perfect. I love the serendipity of that.

Tonight, we had leftovers. The turkey brined in apple cider was devine. So moist and flavorful. According to Mr C, it is the best ever. He says that every year!! But, it really was delish.

Posted in art auctions, Family, M & M, Machine Quilting, My creations, SAQA, Solo Show | 3 Comments »

Better

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

I did the unquilting on the hillside housing. It was a bear. I love my Janome 6600, but when you use the thread cutter, it makes a nice little knot that is very difficult to remove. I found some Superior variegate blue thread in lighter colors. I also bought some new batting, I am running low. It was 25% off at Fabric Depot today.

I went down to the studio to quilt it and rethreaded every thing. I still had snarls. I cleaned out the bobbin case and changed the needle. I still had snarls. I have been using the Superior prewound Bottomline bobbins which are heavy paper. I switched to a regular bobbin and voila! problem solved. These have been working fine for me. I love them because you can get an assortment of colors. Anyway, the quilting is finished, a couple of days later than I planned.

I am feeling better, too. Headache is gone. I wasn’t a bit grumpy today.

I have nothing to show you so I stole these photos from Steph’s blog. These will be for sale in her shop tomorrow. Aren’t they phenomenal. They are made from wool. Each petal of the pinecone is lined. I have such talented children.

Posted in Machine Quilting, My Brilliant Daughters, My creations | 5 Comments »

Feeling Grumpy

Monday, November 17th, 2008

This is my worst allergy time. I think it is from the mold that develops from the combination of falling leaves and falling rain. Today they were scooping them into piles and picking them up in big trucks to haul them out of our neighborhood. I think I should have stayed indoors because I am sure the mold was permeating the air. Anyway, I have a bad sinus headache.

Here is my other headache. I finished the quilting on the hillside houses. I was not thrilled with the color of thread I used for the sky. I wanted to use all heavy weight cotton and none of my shiny synthetics. Well, it looks like I will have to pull it all out anyway. Don’t you love unquilting? Here it is finished (I thought).

Now look at the back. This is a piece of Marimekko fabric I bought at Crate and Barrel:

See all those snarls at the top? Here is a close-up:

I didn’t notice this until I was all done. The problem is that wherever the snarls are, the quilting comes unstitched. I don’t know why this happened just in this section. You can see the line where I cut the back to make the pillow case turn. The sleeve will cover that. So I think I will head out tomorrow to find a better thread since I have to requilt it.

I think I am feeling out of sorts because I have been spending too much time by myself. I always get this way  just before it is time for STASH! I have this self-imposed work schedule to get enough pieces done for my solo show. I have been reading blogs of all my friends who are travelling, going to art gallery receptions, attending quilt shows, taking and teaching workshops, and I am feeling left behind. I know, I know — usually I am having great experiences. Thursday is STASH and Friday is Crit group at my house. That should feed my need for some social time.

I just have to post this link for all my knitting friends. You probably have seen it, but I think it is quite hysterical — knitting graffitti.

Posted in Just for Fun, knitting, Machine Quilting, Quilting Friends, Rant, Solo Show | 9 Comments »

Fini!

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

I have finished my final project for Lizzie’s class. Now, I have to write my own critique based on the design principles that we learned. I used red linen for the red lines and the binding. This is such a happy quilt. I love it. For these complex collages, I like to do a simple grid quilting. Here it is. If the binding looks a little wonky, it is because it is not hand stitched on the back – only pinned.

kimonocollagefinal.jpg

Here is a close-up. You can see how I did the quilting. I had some thread that was variegated red, orange and blue. It was perfect.

kimonocollagefinaldetail.jpg

I didn’t make it to WW’s today because I had the Columbia Stitchery Guild meeting. I don’t think I lost weight, anyway.

Jean Cacicedo was very entertaining. She talked about good design with some props and a slide show. She is a one-of-a-kind clothing designer. Her coats made from felted wool are to die for!!

Tomorrow I must get organized to leave home for a few days. The STASH group is going on their annual retreat to the Oregon Coast. Whoopee!!

Posted in Finishing touches, Machine Quilting, My creations, quilting designs, Quilting Organizations | 7 Comments »

I Love Thread and Quilting Stitches

Monday, January 14th, 2008

After the week-end off, I found time today to get some more quilting done. I often get terrified when I start quilting a piece, but once it is underway, it becomes a very zen and creative activity.

I am always so thrilled when I find the perfect thread in my stash. Last year, I bought a package of hand-dyed thread from England. The thread has very subtle color gradation. Two of them are working perfectly for this quilt. All of the thread I am using for this is heavier— 12 wt.

handdyedthread.jpg

Here are the two hand-dyed threads that I am using. I love the subtle design change that happens to the fabric with the addition of stitches, particularly when the thread has a subtle color change.

After a couple of days with some sun shine, today was extremely dark and dreary. It didn’t rain until this evening. My computer weather widget is showing sunshine for the next 5 days. I hope that forecast is accurate.

Posted in Machine Quilting, My creations, Stuff I Buy | 5 Comments »

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