Quilting Update

I finished both of the free motion practice projects I've been working on. They were supposed to be part of a tote bag using directions from one of Leah Day's Craftsy classes. They almost certainly will never be a finished project. I don't need a tote bag.

In the end I used lots of quilting motifs, not all of them hers. You can literally see the quilting improve as I worked from the center out. I worked on both of them at the same time.

The feathers on the lower photo were from Angela Walters' class on feathers. I had never done the type of feather she calls a "custom feather". I'm pretty sure it is the same as Leah Day's "bump, bump feather" but I didn't go and check so that might not be right.

Turns out that once I got the hang of the new type of feather that I liked it a lot. The shape I get with this method is a lot fatter, and it is easier to get the angle correct. I found turning the corner very easy using her method. I am curious what the feather would look like if I had more room.

I got my new design wall up this weekend. It took both my daughter and her husband to get it up. It truly was a two man job.

I got a deal on the Fons & Porter design wall from JoAnn's online. 50% off. I had never known how they expected you to hang it. Turns out it comes with 7 grommets. I used clear 3-M hooks to hang it. But getting them up straight and perpendicular was not easy.

The blocks stick very well with no pins. In fact since this is basically a vinyl tablecloth, you can't pin into it. The people who gave this bad reviews had a point, but it does do the job, and with the coupon, the price was right.

The blocks are from a Civil War Blocks Craftsy class. I actually had already made 5 blocks. I realized as soon as they were up that they didn't "go" together well enough for me. They are also not quite all the same size.

I am not a precision piecer! I have decided that if I decide to make more classic blocks, I'm going to paper piece and start over so the colors go together.

So I pulled out the coin quilt, got it sandwiched and now I'm auditioning thread. I think the one in the upper photo is the one I will be going for.

I sort of used Sharon Schambers' method of putting the sandwich together. I don't have the wooden bars she uses (yet!) but I made do with a quilting ruler and a cardboard tube. I pin basted instead of hand basting.

This is a narrow quilt, so what I used worked. and I did have to take some of the pins out and resmooth the other end, but it did work. If I used her bars it would have worked even better. So I am almost certainly going to get some.

Take care all.