Before Binding

Miniature washed and blocked and ready for binding.  The quilt is approximately 14 1/2” by 15” right now.  The feather quilting really pops now that there are no blue lines on the quilt.

Happy Quilting,
Lynn

Ripping Done–Quilting Done!

Ta-Da…The boo-boo quilting is removed and I have the outside border re-quilted and will be binding this mini quilt soon.  You can be sure that I checked the thread color more than once before I started quilting!

It took me almost 4 days to get the feathers that I quilted all around the border with the wrong thread ripped out.  Of course that was not morning to night working but several hours each day.  I almost had to pick each stitch out individually but I was determined to get it done.  I used my magnifying glasses, seam ripper, and hemostats to grab the threads to get the job done.  I tried to make it less of a tiresome job by watching a good movie or two on TV or listening to an audio book.  Actually I listened to the movies more than watched them.  I can say I did a better job with the machine quilted feathers the second time than I did the first so maybe I should just think of it as practice. 

I soaked the quilt in cold water to get the blue marker out then gently washed and rinsed it.  It is now laid on a towel after blocking it to square.  When it is dry…and I have time I will get the binding on.  I have never done it in this order before so this is new to me.  I usually bind the quilt then give it a gentle wash/rinse then bind it but since there was so much blue marker on it I felt it needed to get removed before I added the binding.  I sure didn’t want to take a chance of getting it set in.  I sometimes press the first seam of the binding with the tip of the iron to help it roll to the back – that is the heat that could set the blue.  I also read somewhere that a quilter blocked her quilts before she bound them – another reason to try it this way. 

PT tomorrow then some shopping if the weather cooperates – we have had freezing drizzle and a few snow flakes off and on today.  It seems like every time I have a PT appointment it is nasty weather or I have to rush home for some reason.  Tomorrow is free and clear so have my list made and my credit card ready!

Until later,
Lynn

Blog Anniversary

It is hard to believe I have been blogging here for 3 years now.  I intended to make an entry on March 5th the actual day I posted my first entry but forgot.

Here is a link to the first blog entry in case you want to see what I wrote back then. March 5, 2008 I just wish I had that Amaryllis yet as it was so pretty, but alas it died last summer.

I have enjoyed telling you about my activities and showing you the quilting I have done plus shared some of the other things that go on around our farm here in Nebraska.  Blogging has been a wonderful way to meet other quilters around the world and I have met many people through my blog as well as reading other blogs. 

Here's to many more years of blogging my friends!

Lynn

One stitch forward….One stitch backward, and backward, and backward!

News on the quilting front here is not good, sorry to say.  I was so proud of myself as I had quilted the outside border feathers plus one round of echo quilting.  I worked for several days off and on to get it done so as not to stress my shoulder too much at each sewing session.  It all looked so nice, even with the few slight wiggles every once in a while.  I did find a big problem this afternoon that requires me to rip it all out though.

You all might be wondering what was so wrong that I have to take it all out.  You may have to enlarge the photos to see but I quilted the feathers with the wrong color of thread, plus to add more ripping I did that first row of echo quilting with the wrong color of thread too.  I sure don’t know why I didn’t pay more attention when I grabbed the thread to do the feathers.  The other feathers are the color of the silk thread I used for the echo but instead and on this border I quilted them with the gold colored silk thread.  The echo quilting should be the really neutral ecru silk thread instead of the light tan.  The thread color doesn’t look so different in the photo but in real life it is quite noticeable.

This ripping is going to take a while as the stitches are small (1.8 on my Bernina) and the top thread is silk so breaks if I tug on it too hard.  I am using a bright light and my magnifying clip on lenses to make the job a little easier.  Think this is going to be a TV watching project and may take a while.  I am so bummed as I thought I was nearing the end of the quilting.

Oh well, at least I didn’t get all the echo quilting done plus the fill quilting around it finished before I saw the boo-boo.  The thread didn’t look bad but want the piece to look coordinated with the same threads so it has to come out and be re-done.  Guess I need to think of what I am removing as practice and maybe when I stitch it again it will look even better.

One major good thing about this whole disaster is that I didn't remove my feather quilting design marks.  I thought about spritzing the border with water last evening to remove the blue marks but decided to wait until today and boy am I glad I made that decision!  Remarking would have not been easy so guess things could be much worse. 

Wish me luck and a fast ripping job!

Lynn