Thanks for the Memories

Okay.  I couldn’t resist that title.  What I really need to say though is a big thank you to SewCalGal for organizing the Operation Homefront fundraiser with door prizes and My Memories for donating  their digital scrapbooking software.  I was really lucky to win this.   It’s only been a couple of days, but I have already had such fun!

I have found a favorite designer already as well.  DigiZines has kits that I love.  I don’t know what I’m doing yet but the software is so easy to use that I was able to dive in blind and get some things off the ground right away.

First up was calendar pages for my school notebook.  Digizines has a year long calendar program where each month she sends out the bits and pieces to make the next month’s calendar. 

Next up: steampunk! I love the whole steampunk look.  Makes my heart go pitter patter.  DigiZines has steampunk design kits.  No way I could resist that!  Because I’ve got this whole bookmark addiction going on, I decided my first real play would be with bookmarks.  I didn’t have a template for making them so I just eyeballed the lines.  Here is the whole page printed out.

And cut up with some cheesy rub-on laminate sheets as protection:

I do tend to be critical of my work, so I see things I’d change, but for a first try, well, that was just a blast.  I love them. 

It’s a good thing school isn’t revved up yet: I’m also trying to finish up a Valentine’s mini quilt.  I’m still practicing free motion quilting, but I decided to give myself a general idea of where in the border I want the hearts to go by marking the placement. 

Here my hearts are on the white-board:

And here’s the quilt with the hearts being placed (I just cut some hearts out of freezer paper so I could iron them on and trace around).

More in a few days . . .

And thanks again to My Memories and SewCalGal! 

Hmmmm . . . .

You know how sometimes a quilt is just going along swimmingly, and then, right when it’s really too late to do anything about it, you have serious second thoughts?

Yes, well.

I think I’m good with this (I’m just not sure).

What I loved . . . the bargello pattern one of my friends designed, the gorgeous Ricky Tims hand-dyes, the foundation as it was sewing up. 

And then the hesitations: I originally had the outer border so that dark purple in the upper right was in the lower left.  Then at the last moment, I decided I was going to change the orientation of the quilt so what I thought was going to be the top (and which currently is) was the bottom.  But by the time I was ready to quilt the border, I decided I liked the first orientation better and so the purple is upper right.  I’d really be happier if it was lower left.  But, okay, so be it.

And then, I was really happy as I was part way through quilting the border.  (Free motion flames! – Yeah, Terrie!)

Until I finished . .  .

So, here’s what I wish I had done differently: balanced the spine so that it was symmetrical.  When I was quilting it, I thought I wanted the more free-form line.  In retrospect, the mutlitiple stitching over the spine really highlights it.  I wish it formed a symmetrical frame.  And I wonder if the quilting is calling too much attention to itself – and fighting with the piecing.  Hmmmm. . .

Am I losing it?  Over-thinking it?  Right on target?  Heck if I know.

Meanwhile, hey, my free motion skills continue to improve.  Not so I’d impress a quilt judge or anything like that – I had some problems with thread tension, over-stitching a few areas, and those stitches are not even.  (Call me a stitch de-regulator). 

But it’s definitely progress!  So, there it is.  Here’s a couple close-ups of the stitching.

 

I don’t think you can tell from the photos but I used a gold metallic thread so there’s some glitter here as well.

What definitely makes me happy though is the color.  That I am totally happy with!

Look, Ma! No Stencils!

One of my missions with improving my free-motion skills is to tackle quilt tops, large and small, that I have piled here and there.  I made up this Carpenter’s Wheel mini a while ago but I knew I wanted to do more than just quilt in the ditch to finish it off.  I just didn’t know what to do.  So . . . back first . . .

We’ve got pebbles and swirls and straight(ish) lines and leaves.  The front border is primarily black so I decided to quilt the border from the back – which explains the blue marking line that gave me a general idea of where to place the center vine and the borders to keep within. 

I used this design:

From this book:

Here’s the finished quilt from the back:

Close up of quilting on the front:

And the whole deal, finishing at 13 inches square.

I just love how it came out!  Here it is hanging in my kitchen:

I also made another Carpenter’s Wheel, a little smaller (a six inch finished block instead of the 8 inch finished), with a slight design change in the outer ring, done up in reproductions.  I love it, too.  It’s just so sweet – though it’s so traditional I’ll be using stencils when I finish up this one.

Here they both are for comparison: 

I love them both!

I may do this up as a pattern.  Just for a look-see, here it is in process -- with all the patches added to the foundation but the rows not yet sewn together:

If you are interested in seeing what other’s are up to with their free motion quilting projects, hop over here at Leah Day’s.  My Express Your Love panel arrived from Spoonflower and I hope to get it basted this coming week.  I love Leah’s open to anything attitude towards quilting this year.  School begins next week and I’m just crossing my fingers hoping I still get to keep up my free motion practice.  Wish me luck.