Another one is..

started.  This quilt is one of the UFO's I have.  This quilt that I am doing is going to have easy peasy custom quilting.  Well, it is supposed to be easy peasy, but it isn't working out quite that way.  I have had my machine for almost a year and another machine before this one for a year and I have never quilted a custom quilt.  I can follow a panto pretty well but going self-guided is proving to be not as easy peasy as it should be.  My lines aren't very curvy where they should be, they are not straight where they should be and well, my feathers need help in some areas.  It's funny, sometimes my feathers look nice and in some spots they are pretty hideous.  This is where PPP comes in, right?

Here are some pix for you to either enjoy or laugh at.  :)

The Beast is done..

OK, the quilt, otherwise known as "the beast" is finally done.  I had to remove another row of stitching a couple of rows later, but I did and got it done.  A wonderful friend of mine put the binding on for me, as she has been doing for quite awhile now. 

This is one of the seven UFO's.  I now have 6 tops to quilt and 2 projects that are still in the process of getting completed.  I am working on getting the tops completed, so I am slowly working on my goals.

I not only finished the beast, I also finished the mystery quilt that I have been working on.  I run the mystery quilt program within my guild.  I usually put the mystery quilts together before starting the program, but with my mom's health issues last year, I wasn't able to get it done.  But, I have it done now and I like it.  I will show pictures of it after the June meeting (don't want to spoil the fun).

Here are some pics of the beast:

Back to sewing

I was able to remove the stitches relatively quickly.  I learned a new way of removing stitches.  A fellow quilter from Machine Quilter's Resource recommend I watch a video from you-tube.  You-tube is a great source for learning new things.  The technique I used is called skinning-the-quilt.   You take the top and pull it away from the batting and snip at the threads from below the top.  The recommendation was to use a razor, the rotary cutter or the tool that is used in the video.  I am not sure what it is called but it looks like a seam ripper but it is flat with a blade like tip.  This process, I found was much quicker than doing it from the top.  Thank you DebbieHQ for sharing that video.

So, I am back to quilting my quilt.  WooHoo!!

Frustration and more frustration

I was able to squeeze out enough dark fabric for my mystery quilt.  And then, I was concerned about my light fabric and I was able to squeeze enough of that out too.  So I am safe on the mystery quilt front.

Now onto my more frustrating issue.  I still have that king sized quilt on my frame.  I am quilting a pantograph on my log cabin quilt.  In between rows, my friend notices that there is a pin in between the layers. Which layer I am not sure, but it is there.  We discuss where and how I will remove this pin and then I position the needle for the next row and start to quilt it.  Well, guess what, it was not the right spot to start quilting.  The current row is somewhat intermingled with the previous row. 

So not only do I have a pin I have to worry about removing from two or three rows previously quilted, but I now have a whole row of quilting I have to rip out.  ERRRR!!!

Carl asks, will you be happy leaving it the way it is?  Of course not.  It really isn't that obvious on the front but when you look at the back, it is definitely obvious.  I just can't see leaving it the way it is.  Thank goodness this is my quilt and not a customer's or a friends quilt.  I guess it is time to start frogging.  Rip it, rip it.

Another one...

loaded.  I finally got one of my king sized quilts on the frame.  I am using Quilter's Dream Blend for batting.  I have never used that brand of batting, so I am looking forward to the results.  I've had this one on the frame for about a week now, but it is so hard to go downstairs during the week to do any quilting.

I am in charge of sending out the instructions for the mystery quilt to my guild members.  Usually I have the mystery quilt completed before I even mention the fact that I am going to run the mystery quilt program, but this year I wasn't able to make it due to other obligations.  Well, I am currently in the process of making it along with the members.  The instructions called for 3 yards of dark fabric and I know that I had at least that. Well guess what?  I am a 3" strip short.  I can not believe this. I hope there is some way I can possibly piece some pieces together to make what I need or maybe I can  find some scrap pieces somewhere.

Progress

We have so much snow here that we are about buried.  We are supposed to have another snow storm on Wednesday into Thursday and if we are going to get as much as they say we are going to get, then that may be a stay at home day for me.  I might be able to get a quilt loaded if I do stay home.

I am slowly but surely making progress to getting a quilt on the frame.  Today I got a little waysided-I had to hem some pants for my daughter from short to shorter.  :) She starts back to work tomorrow after being on maternity leave for 2 months.  That will be a difficult day for her, but she will get back in the swing of things. 

So, since my last post I started to work on my mystery quilt.  I am in charge of the mystery quilt within my guild and I haven't even made the quilt yet.  I usually like to make the quilt prior to handing out the instructions to make sure that the instructions work, but I just didn't have time to put the quilt together this time.  I am working on getting caught up with that. 

I put the borders on my 12 days of Christmas friendship blocks and got the backing ready.  This is now ready to quilt.  Today I also got 3 other quilts ready, along with their backings.  I put one of the king sized quilts on my bed to see if it needed any additions and sure enough it needs at least 6" added to the sides.  I will try to add rows to it since it is a scrappy quilt or I will add borders.  I'll have to see if I have enough of those scraps hanging around.

I want to load the king sized quilts first so I guess I better get my butt moving on those.  The one king sized quilt that is ready just needs to have the backing adjusted just a little.  I bought a 108" piece of backing and the length is fine but I need to add about 3" of muslin on each side so that I can load the quilt on the frame.  My quilt measures 106" square.  Not quite enough of the backing to be loaded on the frame comfortably.  That will be done at some point this week.

Have a great week.l

Time for new goals...

Since I was able to complete my goal last year (a goal started later in the year, August to be exact), I am going to set myself another goal. I figure if I can complete 12 quilts in 5 months then I should be able to complete the next goal I set.

My goal for 2011 is to quilt the 7 quilt tops I have made. Two of the 7 quilt tops need borders added, but other than that they are ready to be quilted. I have 2 tops not part of the 7 that are in various stages. One is partially done, this was started at MQX in April 2010 (the feathered star) and the other one is my friendship blocks from my guild (under the sea blocks).

Well to start out, my friend Tracy and I purchased a pattern to make a "pooper scooper" last August, but it may have been April, not sure. Anyways, we finally made the scooper. It took several hours to make, but we are very happy with the results. This is not quite a project in progress, but it is a project that we wanted to get done.

This is a picture of our pooper scoopers:



And this is mine again