Lots of Lines

I started this mystery quilt last spring.  It has been on the shelf waiting for Winter Stars to be done.  I've been able to focus on it last week, plugging away on the quilting.  I wrapped that up this weekend - all I need to do is square it and bind it.

At some point I tried using a ruler to quilt straighter lines.  Nope.  Just as bad as I remember the last time I tried that.  Maybe I'll try ruler quilting when I get a nifty longarm machine.  Ha.

Do you recall I had some bobbin tension issues?  I spent some time on the bobbin before quilting.  I don't have a tension gauge, so I tested it by filling a little canister (remember when cameras needed film?) with safety pins then  clipping it onto the thread.  The bobbin needed tight enough for the canister to pull the thread a bit at a time but not so loose to drop to the floor.  With a bit of trial and error I discovered 22 grams is a good spot.  Stitches are even no matter which direction I quilted. 

Project Quilting 17.4 - Art Deco

When I saw this week's Project Quilting 17.4 Of Another Era challenge, the first thing that popped in my mind was art deco.  Maybe it was from the quilting I was working on for my mystery quilt.  Or maybe from some paper patterns I had tucked away.  Rob pitched a few other ideas at me and we brainstormed for a bit.  But as Thursday rolled around and nothing grabbed me, I pulled out the paper piece pattern and settled on a mug rug.

I have some teal fabric I've been wanting to use, so I settled on teal, black and gold.  The paper pieced fans aren't quite art deco, but close enough to fit the bill.  Each square is four inches.  I knew I wanted to set it on point and nestle them next to each other... so the rest of the layout kind of grew from that. 

I still have some lovely shiny rayon thread from my sister's quilt, which seemed the perfect thing to quilt it.  Added a flange binding with some more teal and it's done!

Some Winter Highlights

Winter finally arrived in force in January between the snow and the cold.  I'm happy to see the snow (but I'm also happy to see a little daylight at 5pm).   I've gotten out a few times for local skiing and snowshoeing.  It's been lovely.  I don't like dismal grey winters.

This year the snowblower (and Rob) has gotten a workout.  Check out that plume!  

Project Quilting 17.3 - Seahorse Postcard

 

I struggled for a few days with this week's Project Quilting challenge:  the year of the horse.  I was to find inspiration from the turn of the year, in the animal, in our hopes and desires for the near future.  I like horses, but not for quilting.  I looked at different things to applique and did a leap sideways - how about a seahorse?  That grabbed me.

I was amused to see two others post seahorse project before I finished mine.  So instead of a Fire Horse, I have a Fire Seahorse.  I quilted it with shiny gold and added quilted seaweed around it.  I like it! 

Neutral Mug Rugs

I'm currently quilting my mystery quilt that I started last spring.  I followed the clues for the rectangular baby quilt although I intended to create a square wall hanging.  So there were extra pieces when I finished the final clue. 

 

Looking for Love

Our foster guinea pig from Dakin is still looking for a forever home.  He's gotten into the spirit for February and took out a personal ad:

Single older male, seeking long term relationship.  I love cuddles in front of the TV and gourmet dining (strictly vegan).  I'm low maintenance, enjoying the basics in life, like hay, pellets, and a brown paper lunch bag.  I'm a sucker for veggies of all kinds, except for cilantro.  In return for affection (and treats) I will be steadfastly loyal and will occasionally sing you the song of my people (at full volume).  

Mini Wonky NYB

I wrapped up my mini wonky NYB which I am submitting for Small Works at Hope & Feathers.  The finished work measures six inches across.

It was a challenge!  Making the paper-pieced pattern wasn't difficult.  However, I painted myself into the proverbial corner in a few places that did not piece together well.  The small curves also proved to be challenging.

I have a rule on restitching a seam: I can rip it out twice and the third time stitching is final, even if it doesn't look right.  I figure if I can't fix it in that many tries, it's not going to work (and I'll only end up ruining the fabric in that spot).  As you can see, my outer circle isn't quite round and I hit my 2-to-3 rule in several places.  

Project Quilting 17.2 - Plaid Postcard

This week's Project Quilting challenge is plaid - plaid needs to be featured in the project. I don't have any plaid fabric, so I made some... or at least I tried. A few years ago I made a mug rug from trimmings by weaving them together and quilting over it. I decided to make a plaid postcard with the same idea. I cut a bunch of eighth-inch strips of black, red and white, then wove them together.