Thanks to life getting in the way (new pinch-pleat draperies being altered for a large bay window in the dining room), progress on the latest landscape quilt with the pieced Vicki Welsh hand-dyes only amounts to some fusing and machine basting on the quilt top. The bottom piece is also sewn on.
The jay, the leaves, and the squirrel--whose place in this quilt top, by the way, is dubious--have yet to be fused. (The squirrel is far too large if those owls are 'barred owls'--and I think they are--which are 16 to 25 inches in length, according to Wikipedia. And they would eat a squirrel in a heartbeat. Trouble is, I don't like the branches bare.)
Some wrinkles developed in the areas that were basted (although the upper left section looks far worse than it is--just needs some smoothing on the design wall).
The wrinkles that did occur are due to my choice not to interface (for stabilization) the quilt top. That was an attempt to minimize the final weight of the quilt. So, here's hoping the wrinkles 'quilt out.'
Moving on...despite the drapery panels dominating space in the studio, there was just enough room to work on my Quilty Box project.
Thank you Leah Day for coincidentally choosing all my favorite colors in these Island Batiks for the December box! Awesome FMQ dvd included, and the 6-1/2" square ruler I have needed for some time. Also a spool of Isacord thread, my favorite for quilting.
Only one glitch occurred, while attaching the joining strips...
This is what happens when you forgetfully put a Janome bobbin in an old Singer sewing machine (probably a new one, too). This is the back of the square--you would never guess from the front that anything was wrong; it looked great! That's because these old workhorse Singers (this one's a 1962) are troopers and will try to stitch properly no matter what's wrong.
Last but not least, winter finally arrived this week.
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| VVHH (very versatile handy husband) bringing in the recycling bin |
Linking up with Off the Wall Friday. Check it out and get some great time management tips for the new year!
Have a great weekend!
Linda
I love your latest landscape!! I also admire you working on your FMQuilting - I've been meaning to do just that but keep putting it off!! I would like to invite you to link up with my link party Off the Wall Friday which is specifically aimed (but exclusively so) art quilters!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nina! Heading over to Off the Wall Friday now!
DeleteHello Linda,
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, and congratulations on having a proper winter! Nothing but rain and mud here...
The latest landscape has the story book look, perhaps the first instalment of Tales for Lucy. How did the squirrel outwit (outwoo) the owls and not end up as breakfast?
Gosh you must have been hacked off when you discovered that accidental green fringe, but you might have discovered a quick way of doing Spanish moss.
I would gladly swap your life getting in the way for mine. Oven cleaning three days on the trot. I won't tell you how long since I last did it.
Love, Muv
Hi Muv! Self-cleaning ovens are the only way to go, at least for me. Also, there's a silicon (?) liner someone gave me as a gift at least five years ago, that stays in the bottom of the oven up to 450 degrees and catches all the spillovers and pizza-topping fallout, etc. Even if they burn onto the liner before I notice them, the resulting residue brushes or wipes off easily after everything's cooled down.
DeleteMy heart skipped a beat when I realized how lucky I'd been not to have done any real damage with that bobbin boo-boo. Holy cow. But your fringe/moss idea has me wanting to at least experiment with bobbin tension.
Yep, there were two problems with that squirrel from the get-go. He's not only far too oblivious to those owls, something I was almost--almost--willing to overlook, but then I learned he's WAY out of scale in comparison to a barred owl (I think that's what they are). Thank goodness he wasn't fused yet. Now he's likely headed for the 'somewhere down the road' drawer. No doubt he'll be relieved!
Love,
Linda
LOL - I need one of those silicon liners - my pizza is always dripping. Looking good with your latest landscape. How about more autumn leaves on the tree. Could the jay be on the ground or a larger branch coming out of the left close to the ground. I know you'll come up with something just right.
ReplyDeleteHey, Angie!! LOL I'll eventually ground that jay, whether he likes it or not. Get the oven liner, it's one of the best time-savers around.
Deletelovely as always. Abstract but recognizable details. LeeAnna
ReplyDeleteThank you, LeeAnna. Yes, this is not going to be (I hope) as realistic as what I usually shoot for--if not in imagery, then at least in composition. I'm trying to be more playful with this one.
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