Autumn Oranges, Quilting Done!

Day 78: This is a "for the record" post. I finished the quilting of "Autumn Oranges" this morning despite multiple interruptions. I began this phase of its journey on November 7 as close as I can tell, meaning that I completed the hand-stitching in just under 8 weeks. There's a reason ladies used to get together for quilting bees, half a dozen women working side-by-side on a single quilt. Nobody in their right mind would try to stitch a whole quilt by themselves. This year alone, I've made two fully hand-stitched quilts, plus a hand-stitched (EPP) quilt top (not yet backed and batted), as well as finishing up this one. I still have to apply the binding, machine-stitching it to the front, but hand-sewing it on the back. That should take 7-10 days. For now, the quilting frame has gone back into the closet until such time as I can make a run to Ben Franklin after something to back it with. Meanwhile, I'll be working on "Memory Wreath," another EPP quilt (i.e., fully hand-sewn, but smaller).

Autumn Oranges Milestone

Day 59: Fifty-plus years of quilting, and I just figured out how to make borders and corners easier. I have always trimmed my quilts before putting them in the frame, using binder clips and packaging twine to lash the edges so that I had room to stitch. It finally dawned on me: don't trim! Leave a border of backing and batting, and pin the edges of the quilt top in place. D'uh! Well, there you have it. The old dog has learned a new trick. Y'see, I've never had any instruction in how to do these things. That being the case, this is a milestone for "Autumn Oranges." I am now working on the outer and corner blocks. This corner is done! In fact, I only have six more blocks of a total of 20 to finish, a few fill-in "daisies" to do, and I'll be ready to apply the bias binding around the edge.

Happy Thanksgiving

Day 46: "Autumn Oranges" just seemed to me to be the perfect backdrop for Thanksgiving wellwishes, so to start, let me say that I am thankful to have the quilting almost halfway done. I won't have it finished in time to be a Christmas gift for its designated recipient, but it is still going way faster than I'd anticipated.

The Nisqually Land Trust amused me by including slime molds in the list of things they are thankful for, so let me include them here as a special note among the other abundant gifts Nature gives me daily. Lichens, mushrooms, wildflowers rare and common, birds of all sorts...these are all things I am consciously thankful for every day. I am thankful for my friends, and for my continuing health which, given my age, is far better than it might be. I am thankful for a roof over my head, and for the comforts we take for granted, like heat and running water. I've lived without both. I am thankful for the food on my table, another commodity which has sometimes been in short supply, and yes, especially for homemade bread. I am thankful that I live in the Pacific Northwest despite the occasional earthquake and/or volcanic eruption, because it is the most beautiful place on Earth. I am thankful for the furry and feathered companions who have walked through life with me over the long years. And I am especially thankful for the great, rumbling purr which occurred with Merry laying on my chest this morning, nose to nose in our wake-up-time ritual of sharing a snuggle. I would not trade a single one of these things for all the gold in the world.

Q-Snap

Day 43: For years, I did all my quilting in what was essentially an enormous embroidery hoop, oval or round, depending on what was available each time the tightening block failed (which it did all too often). The hoop was held in a floor stand which at best was an awkward arrangement, or downright annoying as the weight of the quilt tipped the front of the hoop down toward the floor. I was bemoaning the situation to a friend one day, and she said, "I have a Q-Snap frame I'm not using any more. You can have it," and it's proved to be one of the best hand-me-downs I've ever fallen heir to. Basically, it's nothing more than PVC pipes and elbows, but with one important addition: the "snappers" (half-pipes of a more rigid plastic) which grip the quilt firmly when snapped into place. It's easy to set up, easy to move the quilt to the next "screen" (i.e., area to be worked on), and breaks down to fit in a box which can be stored in the back of a closet without taking up much space. I did make one adjustment to the engineering by adding a cross-brace on the bottom to keep the legs in the fully upright position. In the case of this project, when I'm done for the day, I pop the top off, quilt and all and stow it in the Loom Room to keep Merry from using it as a trampoline.

Fill-in Motif

Day 37: As a general rule, when I stitch the layers of a quilt together, I do so 1/8" inside each seam line rather than working an overall design like clamshells or waves. There have been exceptions to that, of course, and occasionally I add embellishments to open areas of solid-colour fabric (a daisy in the center of a circle, for example). In this way, the pieced pattern is reflected on the back, and is more obvious by virtue of not being overwhelmed by prints. Quilting came about as a way to prevent batting from clumping or bunching up, and now many batts are rated by the maximum number of inches between lines of stitching which the quilter must not exceed. Where the chrysanthemum/Dresden plate blocks join in "Autumn Oranges," I had large open spaces of brown which really needed tacking down. As I worked on the plates, my mind was running over possibilities. Circles? Small inside large? Yeah, that would do, especially since I already had ready-made templates. But I wasn't satisfied with the idea. Yesterday, it hit me: add scallops around the outer edge to make a big daisy! A quick sit-down with the templates, a sheet of plastic and a pair of scissors to cut it with, and ten minutes later, I had a 12-petal "sunflower" I could outline in chalk.

Autumn Oranges

Day 26: While listening to the crew chatting as they installed my new ductless mini-pump, I was able to stitch fully half of one Dresden Plate motif in the quilt I have now dubbed "Autumn Oranges," proceeding faster than I'd expected. First, I quilt just inside the yellow center, then again around it on the outside at the same distance from the seam. Next, I work on the blades, up one side, around the point, down the other side until I meet the outer circle. Then I take the thread across to the next blade and repeat. Working it in this manner means I can stitch a continuous line, only knotting when my thread runs out. Later, I will stitch around the outside of the plate, and then will put a design in the open area of the brown base fabric. I know I won't be able to complete the quilt before Christmas, but this one does have an appoointed destiny, and I have to finish it before I can start quilting "Ring Cycles." Good motivation, having one in reserve.

Celebrating Ring Cycles

Day 25: I slowed down quite a bit right here at the end, partly because I was working on a couple of new projects, but more to the point, I didn't want this thoroughly enjoyable project to be over. "Ring Cycles" is my first venture into English paper piecing (EPP), and is entirely hand-sewn. I started it on August 16. I was immediately surprised at how quickly it came together, although the large rings didn't truly reveal themselves until I had it a third of the way assembled. I'd studied several methods for assembly on line, and all seemed to have drawbacks, so I invented my own. Starting by making six 9-patches, I then added a triangle to the left side of each. One by one, I installed them around one of the hexagonal centers to form what I referred to as a "unit." Before I could add a second unit, it was necessary to sew on two "cat's-ears" (triangles) to make a nest for the new unit to fit into. Likewise, some partial units were created and sewn in as fillers to make the edges less curvy. The goal was to never have to fit a triangle into a deep V, and my order of assembly prevented that entirely. I honestly don't think I could improve on the method. It went very smoothly, and allowed me to make pinpoint "meets" (the places where corners join). Now "Ring Cycles" moves into the queue to be backed and batted, and in the meantime, "Autumn Oranges" will occupy the Q-Snap frame, and hopefully, I'll be able to keep Merry from using it as a trampoline.