Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Finishes on the Horizon


I don't have any finishes to show off quite yet, but I can see the ship sailing on the horizon.  Last night, I plugged in the ol' Sweet Sixteen to check my tension and practice a design.  I've been searching around on Pinterest for quilting ideas.  I am in need of some edge to edge designs to finish up some quilts.  Above was my attempt to free hand recreate the look of one pantograph I loved.  Not too bad, if I say so myself.  I will be using it on this baby quilt, I finished piecing last weekend.


I'm going to try something a bit different than I normally do.  Starting in the middle of the quilt, I will mark myself some 6" spaced registration lines to stitch the filler in between, working in rows...kind of like a pantograph.  I'm hoping this will help me with keeping the scale of my motifs evenly spaced and the same size.  I find when I'm just meandering willy nilly, it's easy to start small and get big and vis versa.  We will talk more about his quilt and my 5" square dilemma when it's finished next week.

Remember the Butterfly Meadow Mystery Quilt?  I finally finished stitching the last 4" square last night.  I know it took weeks to get brave enough to do it, but we've all been there, right?  I faced my fear and stitched the pink cancer ribbon the customer requested be on the quilt and I have to say all in all, I'm happy with it.


I traced the outline of the ribbon with a blue water soluble pen then outlined it in dark pink thread.  I thread painted the ribbon using a scribbling technique then added back ground fillers to help it pop a bit.


I will get it bound, washed and blocked over the next few days and hope to give it a photo shoot before it heads to its new home.

So what else has been going on?  I think I might be the only person in America celebrating the Daylight Savings time change.  Are you kidding me, it's my favorite time of year!!!  I gain a whole hour to my day!!!  I could sleep.  I could quilt.  The possibilities are endless.  Yes, it gets dark at 5 PM, but if you close your windows and turn lights on you never know that.  With the extra time, I have went into full on puppy mode.




I still have a few more to go, but they will sew up super quick and then guess what?  I'll have yet again another quilt top to quilt.

Quilt tops, quilt tops.  Man, oh, man.  What am I going to do?  Well, I have some ideas.  I've admitted before that I have a ridiculous amount of tops that need quilted.  I'd blame Dave, but he's only been quilting for a year and a half so that doesn't seem fair.

Do you have unfinished projects you would like to finish up?  I've been bouncing around the idea of creating a party for those of us that do.  Maybe we can turn it into a game?  Make a list of our quilt tops, draw a number each month and let fate decide which project we work on or you could just choose yourself.  Maybe a link up at the first of the month, introducing our project and talking bout why we abandoned it in the first place.  Or maybe you need some help in figuring out how to proceed?  We can all give advice.  Then a link up at the end of the month to show your progress or your finish.  I thought I would put this feeler out there to see if anyone had any interest in such a party.  Maybe at the end of the year we could have a parade of our finishes and I could round up some prizes for all our hard work.  But really at the end, we will all be winners...we finished projects!

Last but not least and completely not quilting related.  Let's play a game of Where's Waldo...

Last week, my daughter and her 4H group traveled to Washington DC to visit the city and do some touring.  One of the things they got to do was visit the White House and meet the president and his wife before they flew out of town.  This is a picture that was posted on aol.com (and a few other news sites).  If you look closely in the crowd...


There she is, phone in hand taking pictures.  Sometimes being short is quite the advantage...you can sneak to the front of crowds.

I'm excited to share some finishes next week and hear your thoughts about my possible linky party.  If I'm the only one swimming in UFO's and there isn't much interest, that's okay, I'll just go back to the drawing board...oh, and starting working on those quilts anyway :)


Today I'm linking up with Let's Bee Social and Mid Week Makers.

16 comments:

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

The ribbon quilting turned out beautifully, Tish. I think your idea of registration marks to keep things the same size sounds great. I certainly fall victim to quilting smaller and smaller as I go along, too.

Jen Shaffer said...

"Only one swimming in UFOs" that's too funny. ;) A link up might be a great motivator.

Love the quilt design you've decided on for that cute baby quilt. Great choice!

Cheryl said...

The ribbon turned out wonderfully on the mystery quilt, what a great technique and result.

Susan said...

Great choice of a design for the baby quilt - definitely sweet! Also a very nice ribbon addition on the mystery quilt - well done!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Howdy,
Darn it - the comment box takes away your post so I have to remember what I was wanting to say! HAHA Your freehand quilting is a lovely pattern - I don't think you need a pantograph - you've got it down without it. The puppies look fun, and how exciting for your daughter. I don't have a lot of to-be-quilted tops - three right now, but it would still be fun to be accountable about them! ~smile~ Roseanne

Nancy J said...

The photo of the year!! What a wonderful time to be at the front.

Stitchin At Home said...

Your edge to edge design for the baby quilt looks good. I hear you about the motifs growing or shrinking as you go.

piecefulwendy said...

You definitely went into full puppy mode and they are cute! I have quite a few quilt tops stashed away hither and yon (don't ask me why they're not all in one place). I was actually thinking that I need to pull them all together and start working on them, so I might be interested in oartying with you. Of course, this may also mean I really need to just learn fmq. Ahem.

Jayne said...

You and your free time starting another project! I think you did do a great job on the practice quilting and it would look amazing on the little baby quilt! UFO's? I'm almost finished quilting one more quilt which will leave one left to go. With remodeling it's a little hard to find the space and get it done in a timely manner! Your ribbon also turned out great! I would have freaked out doing it, but you are calm and steady with things like that!

KaHolly said...

Oh, I’m loving all of your work and already missing my machines! Your doggie blocks are wonderful! Aren’t they fun to make?

Thistle Thicket Studio said...

Ha,Ha! I’m not swimming in UFOs, I’m drowning! So I’d be interested in your party. Lord knows I need all the motivation I can get lately!

helenjean@midgetgemquilts said...

There are indeed advantages to being short ! Well done the daughter , an exciting day . I love the pinwheel quilt , gorgeous . And the cancer ribbon - fantastic quilt . I had planned to make a doggie quilt for my daughter in law to be , but like many of my quilts , it is still in my head !
Drawing lots to finish all my unfinished wip is a great idea !

Jen said...

I would love the idea of a link up party with random UFO finishes. I have an entire tote full of tops that need to be done so I can make more. :) Make sure you let me know if you decide to do this!!

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

I love your sweet little pinwheel qult, very pretty in that pastel palette.

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

Such a busy week, I love the baby quilt and the cancer ribbon is great. I've just been making a couple of doggie blocks too, the spaniel ears version, I hope your doggies are better behaved than mine, well, my real life ones anyhow. UFO's? Well I can admit to having, well, a few. Some are tops that just need quilting others are in various stages of making and a couple will be abandoned never to be completed.

Ruth said...

Fun photo! I'm normally lost in the crowds so well done to her for getting to the front! Love the puppy dogs, such a great pattern. I had fun this weekend playing with some sweet sixteens at a textile show - someday maybe!

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