As I was rambling round the web this week I stumbled upon the rossie blog and her process pledge. The idea is to “chat openly and often about our works in progress, our inspirations, and our moments of decision”. Hmm. That sounds familiar. Seems like I said I was going to blog about works in progress rather than waiting until everything was wrapped up and pretty. Well today here I go.
It’s a rainy day in paradise. That may make it a good day for birds to be outside, but best for me to head to the studio. I need to get back to a project I’ve been avoiding for weeks: the dreaded beach quilt.
We've been visiting a dog friendly beach at Cape San Blas Florida for a couple of years now. Last year was quite hot, and as Lady drooled with her face in the sand, it stuck. Then of course she licked it off. End result? One very sick puppy tossing her kibble all night long on the condo’s white rug. Did I mention it was a rented condo? I decided then and there that I would make a quilt so large she could stay in the middle and never have to lay her head in the sand.
Oh, and it had to have a hole in the middle for the umbrella, because our Lady likes the shade. This picture from our first visit in 2007 was the inspiration for a quilt of large solid blocks in bright primary colors.
Which brings us to today.
This quilt is a monster – supersized king quilt and a bear to work on.
I’m really longing for my Aunt’s quilting machine and frame. But alas it’s just me and my sweet Singer 15-91.
Well not exactly. Just to get the quilt sandwich basted with pins was a nightmare, but as I tried to "stitch-in the ditch" around those blocks on my regular cabinet machine, the pushing and pulling had me sewing in big wrinkles. I was headed for a mess.
So I picked out what I had done so far and went back to my trusty 18 inch hoop, needle and thread. I'm going to have to do the quilting on this one by hand. Sigh. And next time I take on a project this large I'll try the quilt as you go method. Lots of information online about quilt as you go, if you aren't familiar with it. Andrea over at Welsh Quilter describes her method here.
We are headed back to the beach at the beginning of May, so I’ll post a picture and let you know how the project ends up.
Well not exactly. Just to get the quilt sandwich basted with pins was a nightmare, but as I tried to "stitch-in the ditch" around those blocks on my regular cabinet machine, the pushing and pulling had me sewing in big wrinkles. I was headed for a mess.
We are headed back to the beach at the beginning of May, so I’ll post a picture and let you know how the project ends up.
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