Quilt top finished in record time!
lines... lines... more lines
Diverving lines
Quilting finished
Maya demends attention
Made a buttonhole!
English paper piecing done while traveling
Hand sewing half of the binding
Getting Around is finished!
The Spur is finished!
Air Force Memorial Arlington, VA
Started something
Again seeing quilts...
Practicing y-seams. Practice makes perfect.
This week has been a boring torture. As fast as I finished piecing the quilt top, as long it has taken me to quilt it. Not because it is hard or intricate. It is because it has been so boring to quilt all these straight lines that I kept putting it off. I have decided that if I ever want to quilt lots of straight lines, I'm going to hire a long arm quilter to do it. The good news is that the quilting is done. Now comes the experimenting part. I have some lights that come in thing long cables. The plan is to couch the lights simulating lanes in the road. Hopefully I wil be able to hide the cables on the back and have it lay relatively flat. Here is a video of the first strand sewn in.
I need to have two of the lights start in the middle of the quilt so I made two buttonholes to pass the lights from the back to the front of the quilt. I haven't made buttonhole in years as I don't make clothes that often. uttonholes are not hard but it is nervewracking to cut into the middle of a quilt. One little slip and your quilt is ruined. Thankfully everything came out alright. And breathe...
Today was the Artist Reception at the Juried Exhibit at the Floyd Center for the Arts. I haven't been to one since 2017. It was very crowded. It felt weird to be in a place with so many people but everyone was wearing masks and I'm vaccinated so it was probably ok. I didn't win any awards. I never do so that's no big surprise. Going to the reception wasn't very productive but it is always nice to see your art exhibited. It was hung very prominently in the entryway to the exhibit and I talked to a few people after that remembered it so I am pleased.
To attend the Artist Reception at the Floyd, I spent the weekend in Roanoke, VA. I love Roanoke. It is my kind of town. Not big but not tiny. Things to do, artsy, many restaurants. I went with my friend and his two dogs. I'm not a dog person and I can't believe I don't mind these two huge dogs but they are well behaved. And pretty. Stayed at an AirBnB and had a really nice experience with the host. He recommended some good places to go. Always have a good experience with AirBnBs.
Since I was traveling this weekend, I needed something portable to do on the road. I started an English Paper Piecing project. I have no final vision for this. It is just something I can do without a sewing machine. So far I'm enjoying hand sewing all the shapes together although my fingers hurt. I need to find a thimble that feels comfortable. I'm also working with hand dyed fabric which has a more tight weave so it is harder to hand sew. I'll probably keep going until I get tired of it and finish it up. It is fun to have something to work on while watching TV or visiting with friends. Oh and especially at business meetings. Similar to doodling while people are talking.
Last month I started this quilt and it was almost done but I stopped because I wanted to start the quilt for the Simple Lines exhibit that has a deadline. I'm almost done with it so it's a good time to finish Getting Around. As you may recall, I started it to practice curve piecing and piecing full circles. I didn't think it was possible but after a few tries, I did it. I am giving it to my friend that moved into a new apartment.
Today I finished The Spur and photoqraphed it. There is an issue with photographing this quilt because it is very dark and it has lights that are bright so the colors are messed up. I need to take the photos again. Maybe i'll try in better light. I can only submit photos to enter this exhibit but I'll see if they let me submit a video.
I have always been curious about this memorial and wanted to see it up close. It is huge and you can see it from the highway that is why I'm surprised that no one knows about it. It is located apart from all the other DC usual monuments. Maybe that is why no one ever thinks about it. I've been thinking about making a quilt of it one of these days. I went to see it with my friend Alissa and then we went to see the solo exhibit of Susan Lapham at the McLean Textile Gallery. Her quilts are very nice and bigger than I had imagine they were. She also quilts straight lines all over her quilts that are 1/8" apart. After my experience quilting straight lines in a small wall hanging and how boring it was, I'm impressed.
I wanted to practice some y-seams because I never use them and I'm always intimidated by them. So I decided to try some tumbling blocks. I found a quilt online that used stripped fabric and that added even more complexity to the block. I looked in my stash and found this cool gold and black striped fabric. I made a few blocks and the y-seams wer pretty easy to make. I am pleasantly surprised. I decided to use up all the fabric I had which wasn't much and arrange them on my design wall. Don't know what they'll become. Stay tuned...
When I went to Magpie Diner in Harrisonburg, VA, They had the colest wallpaper in their bathroom. Of corse I see a quilt design. I took a picture and I have been days tring to figure out how I can make it into a quilt. To make it into a quilt I have to find where the pattern repeats so I can make that into blocks. I guess that after making a hexagon shaped block, I finally was able to find the repeat in the pattern! What a coincidence. Now off to the quilt shop to find lined fabric and add this to my long list of quilts I want to make someday.
Took a short trip with my family to the Shennandoah area in VA this week. Went to the Virginia Quilt Museum for the first time and was very impressed. My quilt Getting Around was going around with me and took some pictures as I'm going to be giving it away next week. Tried some wine at the Purple Wolf Vineyard and had some yummy breakfast at Magpie Dinner again. On the way back had to stop at a quilt shop and found the Scrappy Apple Quilt Shop in Winchester. Always amazed at how nice quilters are everywhere. Just so appened that next door is the most amazing place for empanadas at the Gringo Gordo (love the name and the food!).
I've been wanting to make a quilted coat for awhile. I even bought a pattern a few months ago. Since I have no plan for these tumbling blocks I'm making, I decided to turn them into a coat. I don't sew clothing besides a few easy things here and there so this will be an adventure. Wish me luck!
