8/13/13

Quilting True Hope

This afternoon I sandwiched the True Hope quilt and got started on the quilting. It has taken me a while to decide on what I wanted to do with it. If you'll recall, I made a rule for myself a while back that I would not tackle a quilt any larger than my ping pong table. My sewing machine might be able to do it, but my knees can't take crawling around on the floor trying to sandwich it. It seems like a good rule of thumb, and this quilt is as large as it can possibly be. It actually extends just a smidge over the edge, but not so far that I couldn't tape it to the lip of the table.


There was plenty of room for the batting and the top. I suppose it could be a few inches larger and still work, but I'm getting close to the limit here. I'll have to remember these dimensions for future reference.


Feeling uncharacteristically confident, I chose a bold red for my thread color. I think this might be the first time I've chosen a thread color that would actually show.


It always feels like I'm half finished when the sandwich is made. Next, I set up the machine for free motion quilting and went to town. My plan was to do some wavy lines in those center bird panels with the intent of suggesting the flight of the birds. I put some marks every one inch across the six-inch panel, and used those as guides, but not strict markings.


This is looking the way I'd hoped it would. I'm not sure if it suggests birds flying, but it's what I was trying for.


Here it is from further back so you can get a better idea of what I'm going for.


Here's how it looks on the back.


The hardest decision I've made on the quilting is how to quilt these flying geese blocks.  I finally settled on a sort of intertwining fern.  It will be hard to describe what I'm doing here, but I'll give it a try.  I'm starting on each edge of the block and working toward the center.  I'll go up one side of the row of blocks, then down the other, and when I'm finished, these "tendrils" will intertwine.


I'm only just getting started with this, but I think it's going to be okay. After I'd done a few blocks, I was dying of thirst, and so I took a break.  It's never a guarantee that I'll return to the sewing room once I break, but I want to. It was important to get up and walk around since my knee stiffens up on me when I sit in the same position for too long.

My family is meeting up at Matthew's house this evening to go to the Hillsboro Farmer's Market held every Tuesday evening. Matthew went for the first time a few weeks ago, and he suggested this meet-up. I'm always up for a good Farmer's Market, and it would be good to have another choice in addition to the Portland Farmer's Market. Matthew lives within walking distance of the market, so it doesn't get much better.

It's been a relaxing and restful day at home today, but the rest of the week is going to get a lot busier. The tomatoes are coming off the vine faster than I can process them now, and I'm going to need to make some pasta sauce starting tomorrow and the next day. Also, we're heading out for an annual get-together at the home of our friends Greg and Jan this weekend. We'll be taking the trailer, and traditionally, I provide dinner on Friday night when the crowd is lighter. I have some simple dishes in mind, but they all need to be prepared ahead of time to make things easier once we arrive. So while I'm boiling pasta sauce, I'll also be making dinner for the following night (not to mention dinner for Mike and me for the same night).  Lots of cooking in my future. 

I hope your day has been relaxing and restful as well.  Any quilting going on at your end?

16 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Good for you in being brave - I like to quilt with color - and just love how you are quilting this. I FMQ two table runners and a doll quilt today and now getting the bindings on for a day of hand sewing tomorrow while I cook down some more applesauce.

giddy99 said...

The red thread is perfect, and I love the wavy lines!

Ray and Jeanne said...

Love the wavy lines! Glad you decided to go with red thread! ~Jeanne

Anonymous said...

Your quilting looks fantastic, the quilt will be stunning when finished!! Have fun cooking :)

quiltzyx said...

And away you go! You are definitely off to a good start - love the wavy lines & the wavy fronds.

Have fun cooking tomorrow - and watch out for those sneak PWPs!

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

That's such a hard decision, being new to doing the quilting. I think you're terribly creative to be able to "see" what it will look like when you're done.

Dana Gaffney said...

I really like the red and the design, it looks great and does make me think of birds flying. Have fun with the cooking and market, be careful with too much walking though.

Lyndsey said...

Love the red thread and the wavy lines. Both look really good. Enjoy your trip to the farmers market. I always come back with more than I planned. Cooking and visiting for the rest of the week / weekend sounds fun. I hope you both have a great time.

Anonymous said...

Love the red thread!!! You are definitely accomplishing the vision you had for this quilt!!! I venture a guess that from now on you will be more adventuresome when it comes to quilting in contrasting colors!!! Looking great!!! Hugs.....

Diane Wild said...

Your quilting design is perfect for this quilt. I baste my quilts on a banquet table taping down the ends and using clamps on the sides. When I get the middle pinned, I move it and reclamp. It works really well. Sure beats crawling around on the floor.

Lynette said...

Hey! NICE start on this quilting. :D I love the red thread. I need to get it together and work with a high-show color, too.

Junebug613 said...

Looks fantastic! You are quite amazing.

Anonymous said...

The red thread looks beautiful! and I think the center lines do suggest flight. Cant wait to see it all.

I am torn between matching thread so it doesn't show (and I can't see to echo either) and contrast. My stitches are still pretty uneven though, so I kinda lean toward matching.

Dar said...

Your quilting looks great on your quilt and I really like the red thread. You don't need to be afraid, after all, you are very good at FMQ. Anything goes now too. You have just created a new design - fantasy flights of the birds.

Melissa said...

Your quilting is stunning! I love the red thread, it really is a lovely design feature!

Kate said...

Love the red thread and the quilting motif!