Hellooooo....
I am still here.....
...totally consumed by the
Road to Oklahoma quilt.....
....ran out of basting safety pins.... 2 packs of 150 each.... I need more...
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| the front seems to go on foreverrrrrrrr! |
....because this quilt has 'grown' to be 54 1/2" x 68 1/2"..... fits the top of a full-size mattress.... which means I had to add a border around the back, photo below. Can I mention how much I HATE adding a border to the back because it means you have to center the front to the back when you are sandwiching the whole thing together, and it is hard to near impossible (for me) to do that. After an afternoon of sandwiching, pinning..... and more pinning.... the quilt is ready to be quilted. My knees hurt.
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| Back of quilt |
My poor Bernina has been making all sorts of moaning and groaning noises from within the machine itself. I've cleaned her, oiled her and loved on her but it's clear she needs a tune-up. She is what makes garment sewing doable to me, so to save more wear and tear on her to get this quilt done, I drug out my daughter's Kenmore machine I bought for her years and years go when I thought she might 'catch' the sewing bug. She didn't, so the machine is almost like brand new even though it's @11 years old. I spent a couple of hours on it yesterday quilting the sample of my sample to get the stitch adjusted right. Can you believe it has a plastic bobbin?!!! Sooooooo different than my Bernina, but pleasant to use all the same. I was brave and adjusted the little screw in the bobbin casing..... a big 'no-no' for the Bernina. It worked and I got a good stitch.
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| Does anyone else practice on a sample of their sample? |
Then it was time to think about the quilting pattern for this quilt, so I enjoyed playing with the sample block for a little while. There is no way I could even begin to comprehend a free-motion stitch for this size quilt, so knew straight lines.... not diagonal straight lines.... but perpendicular straight lines were my ability. This is what I came up with.
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| front |
I like the way it makes grid lines on the back. I also really like this deer and woodland animal print.
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| back |
Guess what I'm doing today.....
Let the quilting begin!
BE SURE TO READ ALL THE POSTS ABOUT THIS QUILT:
*'Road to Oklahoma' - the beginning
*Assembly Line progress
*The top is done..... or is it?!
*Let the quilting begin!
*'just keep quilting.... just keep quilting....'
*Complete!
*The rest of the story
What an amazing quilt. Just tell Ms. Bernina to hang in there. What part of Okla does your family live? All of my family lives in Oklahoma.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was born and raised in the Sapulpa area.... (a little town near Tulsa for those not familiar with Oklahoma geography) and she was about the only one in her family to leave Oklahoma when she and my dad married, thus the reason I was born and raised in Alabama, though now live in South Carolina. I recall many many happy times visiting my Oklahoma side of the family during all my childhood years. We would sometimes spend a month of the summer's out there. My husband's son and his wife are in Oklahoma City, so that's a neat connection now too. My cousin, who this quilt will be for, is around Sand Springs. If you click http://pieceworktreasures.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-road-to-oklahoma.html you will see a couple of old Oklahoma photos of my grandparents and I wrote a little more about the history. You might also be interested to know the block I am using for this quilt is called 'Road to Oklahoma' and dates to the mid-1800s. At that link I also included links to more historical information about this particular quilt block. It seems our world is small and connected in so many ways!
DeletePinning a quilt is a huge accomplishment!! Enjoy the process! I always enjoy hand sewing the binding, because it is the last step and I feel connected to the quilt. It will be a lovely gift..
ReplyDeleteHave you tried basting spray? The spray is used in place of pins. Sometimes you may need to use pins, but not as many.
I have not tried basting spray. Good idea and one to try on a future quilt. Each step of this quilt has been a lot of work, but each one has meant a lot to me. It's been nice to think about my cousin and the childhood memories of the fun we shared and how much I want him to know I am so grateful of how he made this kid feel so special a long time ago. Thank you for sharing some of your tips and thoughts of quilting too Dharma!
DeleteOh, this is going to be beautiful.. I use to quilt and haven't in a long time.. You are giving me the bug..Can't wait to see the finished quilt..What a lovely gift it will be.
ReplyDeleteWith all the beautiful things you make, I am sure your quilts were (and will be ) lovely! I am finding quilting to be a good complement to garment sewing. Thank you Judy!
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