Pinning! Yay!!
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| I made sure to include a peek at the backing--I'm very pleased with how that came out. |
Starting a session of pin basting always seems so overwhelming that I find myself repeatedly thinking, "You're doing it, Peter!"* in order to keep my spirits up and interest keen. In reality it's a 5-hour process, which includes breaks and lunch, so it's really not the day-long procedure it always seems in my imagination.
I will probably Terry Twist all over this (6:13 is the sweet spot in the video), as it's an easy FMQ pattern and will concentrate most of the quilting in the corners where it's needed to tame the bulk. I've got a couple of cones of variegated King Tut threads that'll work nicely with all these colors.
Also today I applied binding to my current keep-my-hands-busy-while-Mom-naps project, the vintage top I'm hand-quilting. There was enough excess muslin backing--still attached--to provide 2" strips for binding and a hanging sleeve, plus a big chunk left over to add to my "neutrals" shoebox.
I haven't completed quilting all four sides--I'm 1/3 down the fourth side--but I really wanted to trim all the excess backing/batting/fabric I've been having to deal with daily. I left the fourth side untrimmed, as there's barely enough there to catch in the hoop as it is.
Bonnie Hunter waits until all 4 sides are quilted before binding her work, but I'm impatient. Time will tell if applying the binding before finishing the quilting is a pain in the assembly or not. Time will also tell whether I ever hand-quilt another top or not! If I do, it won't be with the Warm & Natural I used in this project. I think that was created for machine quilting. I've been keeping notes as to what Bonnie uses in her hand-quilting projects. The only other top I'd consider hand-quilting at this point is "Joie de Vivre", and that's still very much in the percolating stage!
* If, like me, you're a fan of Robin Williams and loved his movie "Jumanji", may I suggest you watch "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle"? He's not in it at all (although his character is referenced), but it's one of the best sequels I've ever seen. I like it more than the original and watch it several times a month (it's one of my "I know this so well I can close my eyes and listen, and thereby fall asleep" movies). It's currently available on hulu.
The backing is great. Are the blocks created as squares and then sliced into quarters? Or are they strip-pieced width-of-fabric and cut into triangles? Nice hand-quilting project, too. P.S. I had no idea about the Peter reference so appreciate the video clip.
ReplyDeleteHuh, I have no idea how the original maker made them! I'd been assuming they were made the same as I make a string block: position the center color on the diagonal of a square, then add additional strings along the sides. But both your scenarios make every bit as much sense.
DeleteI know she (assumed) was an inexperienced sewist and didn't yet have the needed light-yet-firmness of hand to deal with the bias edges and the thick seams, nor the thread ends at the beginning of each seam. So many snarls! I ended up stitching over every vertical seam of the top (trying to get them somewhat evened out at 1/4") and all the seams in the four strips used on the back. It's well and truly held together now!
Sitting at the sewing machine this morning, sewing the 96 Easy-Breezy blocks into 48 pairs and thinking about all the other projects lined up and waiting to be pieced or quilted or just kitted together, and feeling a bit overwhelmed by all that's NOT done. That's where the "You're doing it, Peter!" also comes in handy: there's a LOT undone, but every stitch is getting something closer to the finish line.
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I've seen Jumanji - welcome to the jungle twice, well one and a half times. The first time I came in part way through which took a bit of working out and then I saw it all the way through. I've never seen the first film although it pops up at Christmas. I like the back, the colours in the big print play well with the front.
ReplyDeleteI love how funny Dwayne (The Rock) is in this movie! And Jack Black--my oldest son summed it up perfectly: "Jack Black improves any movie he's in."
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I really like the design of the hand quilting project. I'm a fan of maple leaf blocks. Yikes. I haven't pin basted a big quilt in ages... and I was just helping a friend when I did. I do pin baste or spray baste smaller
ReplyDeleteOOOPS>.> I hit a button wrong before I was finished -- smaller quilts that I do on my domestic machine. I've never tried to bind a side of a quilt only -- rather than waiting until all is done. Let us know how it goes.
ReplyDeleteI'm finding it easier with the binding attached. It's taking the place of running stitches along the bottom edge, supplementing the basting that didn't go all the way to the edge.
DeleteI reached the half-way point of the final edge today, and am looking forward to finishing that side up, trimming it down, and getting it bound!
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