5/11/11

Another Finish

This is my second finish of the week!  My UFO pile is dwindling, although this was never a UFO.  I started it a few weeks ago and continued working on it until it was finished.  Baby quilts won't wait any more than babies will, you know.  Here's the whole quilt.  I haven't actually named this quilt, but if I were forced to, I think I'd call it "Pink Polka Dots."

I did a meandering free motion quilting design that I found on You Tube called "Bottoms Up Hearts."  You can see her video here.  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.  This is the front.



Here's the back.


The design itself was pretty easy to pick up.  I practiced on paper and then on a sample quilt before trying it for real.  The problem I had was that I kept getting lost in the meandering on the quilt.  When I needed to add bobbin thread, I'd take the quilt off the sewing machine and look at it, and I'd find small sections that I'd completely missed.  I'm told this will get better with practice.  As it is, it's no big deal.  I'd just feel better about my quilting if I could be a little more organized about it.

Thanks to reader, 501 Quilt Blocks, who put me onto this tutorial about making labels.  As I said in my recent FFFF post, I felt a little funny about labeling this quilt since the recipient is someone who provides a service to me.  I like her, but I wouldn't call her a friend.  She knows she's expecting a girl, but I don't know if she's chosen a name yet.  It felt a little self-aggrandizing to put my name on her baby's quilt when we don't have anything more than a professional relationship.  In the end, I liked what the tutorial suggested about putting washing instructions, and I settled for "Welcome Baby!" and the year.  I made this label with my ink jet printer and Printed Treasures washable printable fabric sheets.



And the washing instructions are on the back.  I like this idea for a baby quilt so that she knows the quilt is intended to be used!


So that's my finish for today.  I'm feeling good about getting my UFO pile whittled down.  I felt so far behind when we returned from our trip.  Now I have just one block (which is made twice) to finish my Kitten's Tale BOM.  I'm still working on my Checkerboard Flowers BOM and my Home is Where the Heart is BOM.  I'm depending on the quilt shops to get the blocks out to me on these, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm behind on the blocks I have. 

I have a small wall-hanging that needs quilting and binding.  That shouldn't take more than one afternoon.  I still have one more quilt that I want to free motion quilt, but I'm holding off on that one for just a bit.  I don't love free motion quilting so much that I want to do it every day . . . or even every week for that matter.  However, I will say that it is very empowering to do the whole quilt myself.  And finally, I have two other quilts I'm still piecing.  One is about half finished, and one is barely started.  Given that I started two months ago with twice as many quilts to finish, I'm feeling pretty good right now.

8 comments:

Donna~~ said...

The quilted hearts are perfect--and look fine to me! I haven't been brave enough to try quilting anything like that--not sure my old machine could survive it! The label is a nice idea, and I like your solution with the laundry instructions.

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

Congrats on another finish! The baby quilt is adorable. Your fmq is fantastic - love the heart design. And the label you made is perfect. Good job!!

Mommarock said...

Very cute! Great quilting.. and a super smart tag!

Pat said...

Your label came out great! It's the perfect solution.

Kate said...

Congratulations on another finish! I love the quilting.

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

What a lovely quilt for a new baby! Your label certainly came out beautifully and helpful, too. I like that in a label !~!

Val's Quilting Studio said...

2011....Good one to rejuviant! I was soooo happy to see ya join us.

Jennifer Fulton Inquiring Quilter said...

Lovely little quilt for a baby. And those labels are awesome! Gotta remember this.