For the inner border, I'll test some combinations of the machine's programmed stitches. The outer border may be free-motion quilted or it may be quilted with programmed stitches--not sure yet. All I know is that I'm finished wrestling with this behemoth, so whatever doesn't strain my neck and arms is what gets my vote.
And...she's back! Tucked away in a drawer all this time for safekeeping, the girl was taken out and quilted Wednesday in free motion, onto a piece of purple batik. Her hair clasp is embellished with the same gold metallic thread used for her gown lacing.
She's now ready to be appliqued onto the garrison quilt...but that won't happen until the borders are quilted, the quilt is blocked, and the shrubs, the binding and the label are sewn on. In other words, she'll be the very last thing to go on the quilt. I don't want her involved in the blocking process, and this way she'll endure as little handling as possible. So she's back in the drawer for now.
The last two days were spent cutting scrap fabric into strips for my first quilt-as-you-go project. The batting squares had already been spray-glued to the backing squares out in the garage. No way am I going to spray aerosol glue in the studio--or even my basement for that matter!
The quilt-as-you-go project will be a good workout for the beautiful Singer 403 that my VVHH picked up for $8.00 last week at the thrift shop. He fixed the motor and it's running fine now. It didn't come with any attachments except the presser foot and one cam, but all the attachments for the Singer 503 I inherited from my mother-in-law fit this machine as well--including the walking foot. How lucky is that?!
The next thing VVHH did (he should have his own blog, or at least write a guest blog, as one reader suggested) was to install a pretty curtain rod in the studio. It's the perfect space to hang quilts when photographing them for my Etsy shop!
Linking up at Whoop Whoop Fridays where Sarah has a charity quilt challenge going, as well as a beautiful butterfly quilt on display, made by a friend. Also hooking up with FMQ Project Linkup, where Leah has finished her Building Blocks Quilt!
And now, back to quilting and March Madness--lots of games today, and Louisville (my hometown) scored another win last night in their conference tournament. Also, the temp is going into the 70's today! (Before dropping back into the 20's Monday or Tuesday--can you believe it?).
Have a great weekend!
Linda
Linda, gorgeous work! I've been admiring for a while now. Since you mentioned it I thought I'd go to see your Etsy shop. I don't know how to get there. You should have a button on the side bar.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Hi Terri, thanks so much. Oh, and the Etsy link is on the sidebar under 'Linda's Other Websites'--there's just so much stuff on there it's getting hard to find! lol
DeleteI haven't stopped by in awhile - it's almost done! Yay! So beautiful and I adore the girl. Really top rate work. I am in awe :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Carol, thank you. I want so much to put her in the scene!
DeleteI am absolutely speechless. This is incredibly beautiful!!! Just amazing work. :)
ReplyDeleteJessica, thank you so much!
DeleteHello Linda,
ReplyDeleteGreat progress! I was wondering where that girl had got to. It will be like a big game of Big Girl's Fuzzy Felt when you have to decide where she should go on the path... did you have fuzzy felt when you were little, or did you miss out?
The new machine is looking smart and raring to go.
Love, Muv
Muv, no, we didn't have that, so now you've got me curious. I'll be researching fuzzy felt! The new old machine got even faster today, once I started stitching the first quilt block. It was as if the machine needed to be taken seriously before it would give all it has to give!
DeleteAha! Muv, we had a variation of this as children, called Colorforms, but they were made of vinyl instead of felt. I remember playing with them quite a lot as a tyke. I think maybe I had Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.
DeleteWow. It is so beautiful. I look forward to see more of your work.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cynthia!
DeleteWow! Your work is amazing! I'd love to see close up pictures of the garrison quilt. It's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah! If you go back through the posts that are tagged 'garrison quilt', you can see the progress and some closeups. Thanks again.
DeleteOh, it just hit me--if you click on the 'garrison post' label right under my post up there, it should bring up all the pertinent posts, in date order with the newest first.
DeleteI literally gasped out loud when I saw this! Your girl is just beautiful, I bet you can't wait to bring her out into the light permanently :) I also second the request for close ups, it's great to see that nitty gritty of process. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I am anxious to get her into the scene once and for all. If you click on the label 'garrison quilt' right under my sign-off on my post, it should bring up all the posts I've made about this quilt. There are some closeup photos included.
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