Thursday, December 30, 2010

WHEW

It has been a whirlwind the last week or so...but I suppose that is true for many readers. After tomorrow night, I will be taking down all the decorations and trying to stay away from junk food! LOL...I say that every New Years.

 I did have the chance to finish up a scrappy quilt that I have been working on. On the chair, you will see the back of the Scrappy Sunbonnet Sue I posted about months ago. I chose to use blue scraps because the border and the sashing sqaures were blue. I did use some of the same fabric on the back to give the quilt some cohesion. It is quilted with a machine decorative stitch in the ditch of the front sashing which gives it a pattern on the back. The back is embellished with small buttons from the TUB of old buttons that I have. It was fun to put the back together like a jigsaw puzzle. It finished at 62" sqaure.

Santa brought me the 2 1/2 inch strip cutter for my GO so I have been playing with that too.  I actually used it to cut the binding for this quilt.

There are certainly things I would do differently on this quilt but it was an experimental quilt. I experimented with different applique techniques on the front. This was also the first time I attempted to machine quilt a larger quilt. Before I had only done some table runners and baby quilts. The challenges I identified for myself included the difficulty in handling the bulkiness. I did roll the quilt and start in the middle. Rolling the quilt worked well as there is plenty of room on the machine but the roll kept unrolling. I also will have to move my machine away from the wall as the roll kept bunching when it hit the wall. I had plenty of room on the left as my machine table is large. I will probably have to put some kind of a table between the wall and the machine to catch the quilt roll. If I do decide to use a decorative stitch again I may choose a different one. This one seemed to pucker the fabric a little on the back. It is really not that noticable but I am really picky. I laughed when the quilting was done because I am so anal when it comes to matching seams....the stitching hid the corners so you really couldn't see them....

I am determined to use up many of the scraps that I have accumulated over the years. I still have to figure out what I will do with the large scrappy star quilt.

As for my new year, I am going to finish UFOS and use lots of the fabric that I have....until I go to the Lancaster PA area again....which will be sometime this spring.  My son and daughter-in-law gave us a gift certificate for a B&B there which is within walking distance of some of my favorite fabric shops in Intercourse, PA. 

Well, off to bake some banana bread for dinner with company tomorrow night....Have a great New Year, y'all.

9 comments:

Linda said...

Love the quilts. Great gift. B&B near quilt shops...

Micki said...

Love your quilts! I am sure that you will get a lot of use from the strip cutter. Enjoy 2011!
Micki

Pat said...

Love how that turned out!!! Happy New Year to you and Bill and your family!!!

Kaye said...

Quilt looks great! We all need a rest and some quiet time. Lucky you, going to aa B&B in Lancaster. Larry has promised to take me there when he is finally healed, so I will be picking your brain for a place to stay. Happy, Healthy New Year to you and yours

Unknown said...

love that scrappy quilt, and the sunbonnet sue....

Nancy said...

Cute quilt, and I love the back! Plus the extra time you took to add the buttons. Nice touch. Happy New Year, and good luck with those UFOs.

SheilaC said...

I love your Sunbonnet Sues and how each one is different :)

I have had some of the same troubles quilting big quilts.... using the dining room table helps support the bulkiness, but there is still the issue of the unruly roll!

Can't wait to see the fun ahead for you in 2011!

SheilaC

Val said...

The quilt is gorgeous!!! Got to email my Mom and show her this one!!! Happy New Year!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Sunbonnet Sue is my favorite quilt design! What a beautiful quilt with the pretty blues! Happy New year to you, my friend! ♥