Yikes, what a week! I finished the Carolyn quilt exactly 4 hours before my stepmother boarded a plane for NY. The plane happened to leave at 6:00 AM, and so I don't have a picture of the finished quilt because I was binding like a zombie. The binding is red, by the way, and I quilted it in crossed diagonal lines, forming diamonds after my quilting disaster. I'll probably be able to add one later, hopefully of Carolyn actually opening and loving it!
I've been really busy doing non-sewing things lately, so that's why it's been a little quiet here. I do have a lot of quilting bee blocks to show, and another quilt to put together, so things will hopefully go back to normal soon. Thanks for reading!
Showing posts with label Carolyn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carolyn. Show all posts
Friday, August 14, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
ripping seams
Oy vey, I can't wait for this quilt to leave the Sweat Shop.
I've spent about 3 hours stippling the quilt, and have broken 4 needles. I re-threaded the machine, changed the bobbin, got all the dust out, and took a break. The front looks fine, but the back has tension problems.
Also, I did too good of a job picking out the green thread: it blends in exactly with the front of the quilt, so I can't see where I'm going. Here's a horrible picture of some of the worst quilting I've ever done:
So, I'm ripping out all of the quilting, and I'm going to quilt it in straight lines. I'm putting this on here to show myself that I can remedy this problem. Wish me luck, it's going to be a long, thread-covered day.
I've spent about 3 hours stippling the quilt, and have broken 4 needles. I re-threaded the machine, changed the bobbin, got all the dust out, and took a break. The front looks fine, but the back has tension problems.
Also, I did too good of a job picking out the green thread: it blends in exactly with the front of the quilt, so I can't see where I'm going. Here's a horrible picture of some of the worst quilting I've ever done:
So, I'm ripping out all of the quilting, and I'm going to quilt it in straight lines. I'm putting this on here to show myself that I can remedy this problem. Wish me luck, it's going to be a long, thread-covered day.
Friday, July 31, 2009
my first commissioned quilt top
Here's the Carolyn quilt top, on my newly landscaped front yard:
As I've mentioned before, my favorite part about this is the outer border-- all of the fabrics I chose for the pinwheels were inspired by that pattern. Here's a closeup:
To avoid having to piece the border, I had to wait and see how much I needed to buy, as this runs parallel to the selvedges, rather than across (like a typical jelly roll strip).
In my dream world, Moda would realize that those stretchy jelly roll strips, while easier for them to produce, aren't half as easy to work with as cuts that run the length-- rather than width-- of the fabric. Cutting the borders this way makes sure that the edges don't ruffle and instead lay flat. I got this tip from my favorite quilt shop owner when I was buying the aqua and brown Snow Flower for Mr. and Mrs. D's quilt, and sure enough, it made a big difference.
I still need to piece the back, making sure to include four of these little girls to represent Carolyn and her three sisters. The backing is a really soft faded denim-colored blue, which I think will make the quilt a bit more dimensional (I didn't realize how green the top was until I put it all together).
As I've mentioned before, my favorite part about this is the outer border-- all of the fabrics I chose for the pinwheels were inspired by that pattern. Here's a closeup:
To avoid having to piece the border, I had to wait and see how much I needed to buy, as this runs parallel to the selvedges, rather than across (like a typical jelly roll strip). In my dream world, Moda would realize that those stretchy jelly roll strips, while easier for them to produce, aren't half as easy to work with as cuts that run the length-- rather than width-- of the fabric. Cutting the borders this way makes sure that the edges don't ruffle and instead lay flat. I got this tip from my favorite quilt shop owner when I was buying the aqua and brown Snow Flower for Mr. and Mrs. D's quilt, and sure enough, it made a big difference.
I still need to piece the back, making sure to include four of these little girls to represent Carolyn and her three sisters. The backing is a really soft faded denim-colored blue, which I think will make the quilt a bit more dimensional (I didn't realize how green the top was until I put it all together).
Monday, July 20, 2009
a lack of confidence
I spent 2.5 hours in a quilt shop yesterday.
Normally, I'm in and out in about 30 minutes-- I make decisions pretty quickly. But yesterday, I needed to pick out fabric for the Carolyn quilt. I decided on an easy pinwheel pattern from Material Obsession called Cowboy Baby. Since the quilt in the book was tiny, about 40" x 48", and I have limited time, I decided to make my blocks twice as large (you know how I love the big blocks).
But I had the hardest time picking out the fabric. My eyes always go immediately towards stripes, dots, brights, solids and contemporary prints. I knew that those wouldn't do for a lodge-inspired quilt living in the Adirondacks. This is probably the first time ever that I've been continuously second-guessing my choices. I had a lot of help from the women at the shop, which was great (though one thought I was nuts for not putting dark binding on every quilt I make, but that's another story).
Since the quilt is surrounded by a large border, I had help picking out the print used as the border in this pattern as my inspiration.
I haven't bought the border yet because I want to cut it parallel to the selvedge as opposed to the way it's shown in the picture, and I need to know the length first. It's actually pretty cute, with half moons and red flowers on a dark blue background. Most of the fabric I picked for the middle of the quilt is from the same line, American Primer:
I'm not in love with this, though I did like it much more next to the border. Maybe I just need to wait and see.
Normally, I'm in and out in about 30 minutes-- I make decisions pretty quickly. But yesterday, I needed to pick out fabric for the Carolyn quilt. I decided on an easy pinwheel pattern from Material Obsession called Cowboy Baby. Since the quilt in the book was tiny, about 40" x 48", and I have limited time, I decided to make my blocks twice as large (you know how I love the big blocks).
But I had the hardest time picking out the fabric. My eyes always go immediately towards stripes, dots, brights, solids and contemporary prints. I knew that those wouldn't do for a lodge-inspired quilt living in the Adirondacks. This is probably the first time ever that I've been continuously second-guessing my choices. I had a lot of help from the women at the shop, which was great (though one thought I was nuts for not putting dark binding on every quilt I make, but that's another story).
Since the quilt is surrounded by a large border, I had help picking out the print used as the border in this pattern as my inspiration.
I haven't bought the border yet because I want to cut it parallel to the selvedge as opposed to the way it's shown in the picture, and I need to know the length first. It's actually pretty cute, with half moons and red flowers on a dark blue background. Most of the fabric I picked for the middle of the quilt is from the same line, American Primer:
I'm not in love with this, though I did like it much more next to the border. Maybe I just need to wait and see.
Friday, July 17, 2009
so excited!
I just got asked to create a quilt on commission! My stepmother has a sister, Carolyn, turning 60 next month and wants me to make a quilt for her. Of course I said yes!
The one thing (besides time) that's making me nervous is that my stepmother's sister (my step-aunt, I guess?) lives in a log cabin/lodge house on a lake in upstate New York. The quilt should evoke a lodge, and my stepmom wants me to also incorporate the theme of "sisters". There are four girls, all with first names that start with the letter C.
So, I think the quilt will be much more traditional than I typically lean. Which is fine-- good, maybe, to test my boundaries. Do you guys have any ideas?
My first thought was to make four patchwork girls, but I'm unsure what else I should do. Trees? Those houses that are so popular? My mind is really reeling, but the timing is great: my husband is going out of town for the weekend with his brother, so I have the whole weekend to sew. And the weather is really cooling down, so it should be a good time to quilt.
The one thing (besides time) that's making me nervous is that my stepmother's sister (my step-aunt, I guess?) lives in a log cabin/lodge house on a lake in upstate New York. The quilt should evoke a lodge, and my stepmom wants me to also incorporate the theme of "sisters". There are four girls, all with first names that start with the letter C.
So, I think the quilt will be much more traditional than I typically lean. Which is fine-- good, maybe, to test my boundaries. Do you guys have any ideas?
My first thought was to make four patchwork girls, but I'm unsure what else I should do. Trees? Those houses that are so popular? My mind is really reeling, but the timing is great: my husband is going out of town for the weekend with his brother, so I have the whole weekend to sew. And the weather is really cooling down, so it should be a good time to quilt.
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