Start Where You Are, Use What You Have

I had been looking at lot at sewing cabinets, put them momentarily into various online carts, removed them (dreading to spend the money, and of making a mistake) and I finally decided to NOT.

Here’s the backstory… I moved my primary sewing area to the living room. I don’t have a sewing room, though the Tiara is still tucked into a corner of a room I primarily use for an office.

So now, what I lost in a privacy I did not really need, I’ve gained in actual sewing time, as I no longer have to leave family life to “go sew”.

If anyone comes over – yeah, I sew things. Just squeeze by this and find the couch.

What I originally had for my Janome is a Gidget II (Arrow 611) table. (No link, nothing to sell here, folks, but you will find them online.)

I bought mine from Chatanooga Sewing Machines on Amazon, and was very happy with how it was packed and shipped.

These tables are great, economical and they fold down to slide away under the bed when you don’t need them. I had somehow wound up with 2 of them.

So for another $260.00 or so, I decided I would be able to use the Janome for ditching these quilts if I purchased just.one.more.

So here’s the set-up, one table the Janome recessed in for normal use.

The second one to support the quilt to the BACK.

The third table to support the quilt to the LEFT.

It’s working well!

Didn’t spend a few thousand.

Also didn’t call a realtor!

Happy Quilting Everyone!

On the Wall, Waiting.

The top is finally together, and I’m waiting for the batting I’ll use for trapunto to arrive.

There is some fullness here and there, but it’s tightened up since I hit it with starch and steam.

Should I also mention that I kept running my hands over it telling it to relax, as if that would actually work. ?? 🙂

I’m planning to puff out the circles with extra batting, and also couch down some metallic yarn to define the stars that landed on yellow backgrounds.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Circles and Clips

Sometimes I wonder if I could ditch pins for good.

These are generic clips I got off of Amazon, and for these circles, especially tight ones like this one they really help… and are not “stabby”.

As you can see below, the clips are not really holding the fabric in place… what actually does secure it is me using a stiletto to shove it accurately under the needle.

(Actually happening from the other side, I don’t have a 3rd hand to hold the camera.)

There’s a lot of circles within circles in this quilt, and I’m learning to slow down and concentrate on getting them smooth.

Not Too Bad!

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Perfect Circles. NOT.

I am working on the Dream Flight quilt which has inset circles, and these are, right now, a tough thing.

Struggling to get perfect seam allowance, I know in all of them there is some wonkyness.

But I do have one of those “Circle Tools” as a maybe-someday-I’ll-need- this attachment.

So, what I’ve done to rescue them is to overlay my sewn circles with decorative stitches.

I’m thinking your eye sees a nearly perfect circle where there might not really be one…

What do you think?

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Getting Organized…

My original plan was to get them all on the wall and sort them out later. Lessons learned, start by grouping these pieces where they just might end up…

First Star (Almost)

A new star on the Horizon!

These are the sections A 1-8, and I love seeing it come to life.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Sections Pinned to the Wall

Borders Continued….

I started the second border.

I had trimmed up the  first piece and put it away in the project box, thinking I would not see it again till nearly  the end of the quilt.

However, I have not been working with this pattern  (and my colors)  long enough to memorize what color each number is.

So, out of the box it came, and now it’s a source-of-truth reference piece while I work the next border section.

Now Make Another Just Like It…

I’ve already made one mistake by not sitting down to have a real conversation with the fabric and the pattern.

I had inadvertently swapped colors #2 and #3.

I was so far down the road of spikes when I realized it, that I decided that I’d better just keep those colors swapped in sections 2, 3, and 4… rather than trying a repair.

Big clips come in handy…

It’s Like the Old Snake-in-a-Can if I Don’t Clip it Down

Glad I’m able to move on where I can!

2 Out of 4

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Borders Started!

…Sounds like that should be the title of a post in the final part of a project, but…  as before with the Infinity Quilt, I’m starting with the borders first!

They are mindless, muscle-memory building paper piecing, and working  up pretty quickly!

Got the first one done, and was astonished at how the colors I chose for Jacqueline De Jonge’s “Dream Flight” quilt mirrored what’s happening outside!

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Done for Real!

I don’t yet know how to block a quilt to re-square it, nor how to make a proper hanging sleeve, so what’s hanging now is a bit wonky and it looks a little better each day as gravity works on it.

Or maybe it looks better because it is just done.done.done… and I can now start focusing on the next one.

Here she is, her name is “Infinite Love”, and she lives in no more prominent or important place than my own sewing corner.

And only here on the Internet for all the world to see.

Infinite Wonkiness…

Thank you ALL for your encouragement here and as comments to my posts on Reddit.

Happy Quilting Everyone!