I've just rounded the halfway point quilting the braid quilt. Quilting this is still slow going. I swear I spend as much time staring at is as I do physically quilting it.
I'm still struggling with stitch length. It's certainly a lot better than past quilts. I find that I'm watching more closely at the stitches as well as the pattern. I now have the occasional problem of stitches being way too small. But that's better than having them way too long (unless, of course, I need to rip them out!).
I'm loving the flowers. I seem to do well with leafy designs, too, like the ones off this flaming swirl.
The other challenge is quilting large patterns. I could fill this quilt with small-scale designs - but that would be way more work and thread and time than I want to do. I can only move freely so far under the harp of my machine, and there's a limit to how far I can see the fabric. If I drew it all out beforehand and followed the lines, that may be easier. But that's not how I want/like to quilt. The supreme slider has helped a lot with moving the quilt for a larger design - I am having far more ease than I have in the past. It still has limitations.
I thought I'd have enough thread to do the whole thing. It will be a close call... or a trip to JoAnn's to buy one more spool.
I may just be able to finish this by the end of the month. It will be close. But even if I fail, I'll have gotten a large chunk of it complete.
The feather swirl reminds me of fiddlehead ferns. Very nice quilting.
ReplyDeleteYour quilting looks fine to me and I like the feathery design and the pretty fabrics.
ReplyDeleteYou quilters are amazing. I think what you have done looks spectacular, but I probably do not have an educated eye to know the difference! Sometimes we are our own worst critics!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds wonderful. One of the quilting magazines runs a column called Helen's Hints for learning how to do feathers and other quilting designs. I remember her article saying practice practice practice on whole quilt small pieces, until it feels completely comfortable, like second nature. An idea for being able to see more of your quilt under the harp of your machine would be to get one of those trifold cosmetic mirrors other mothers used to have (I had one as a kid & still use it, only to see behind my machine when I practiced whole cloth quilting designs & not my ears). Good luck with the rest of your quilt.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking at your quilting and I think it is fabulous. It sounds as if you are getting lots of practice. I love the flower and the colour of the thread is great.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I am so inspired by your quilting!!
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