It’s been a long hard week! For every success it seems we then have an extra difficult next day. Repeating the very same steps because all we are working on mastering is edge to edge at this time. So frustrating, but they say give it a few weeks. The positive side, my 26″ (aka The Kraken) stitches beautifully.
The above is my Summer in the Park. It has been on my custom list since 6/2013. I decided to do a simple, fast edge to edge on this and give to one of my granddaughters. I used Pink Lemonade Glide thread on top and bottom. Colors are a little washed out, its brighter in person. The last 2 on the frame shots show the correct colors. I need to perfect my camera phone skills for the new location. Now it needs to have binding made!
2 more little ones, again one open fun design on the bright colored squares. The muslin was my first “quilt” even though just a piece of muslin, it was our first attempt to create an entire quilt from start to finish, not just plopping in designs here, trying another there… It’s going to be a dog pad for one of our grandbaby dogs!
One from GNQG, donation quilts. Those nice browns and blues seemed like a good mans quilt so we chose a geometric design.
I really like this quilt, it’s from TCQG donation quilts. Funny license plate fabrics, several blocks with a Texas theme. Chose a patriotic design but it goes with Texas – The Lone Star State and the banner reminds me a little of traveling the highways.
This one struck me as being vintage blocks, has a very old fashioned feel. Again from GNQG. I don’t know the story but I do recognize some guild members names in the signature blocks. I kept that vintage feel going using white cotton thread top and bottom and choosing a feather spray design set as an edge to edge that also has a really well designed butterfly. It turned out really nice and does have that vintage look and feel. We may need to think about putting this one in the stack for the quilt auction next September, especially since it has guild member names on it.
As I said, it has been a difficult week. The steps seem so simple but you know nothing ever really is! I can’t imagine how new to quilting people feel buying a longarm AND computer system at the same time. This is the very same machine I’ve been using, I’ve been professionally quilting for 5 years and frame quilting much longer than that. The only new part IS the computer. I have a quick start guide and TWO manuals written differently. Yet they can’t cover all the bases. For example, no where does it tell you how to shut down and start back up on the same project the next day. The only time I have done so… is because of computer crash and of course it doesn’t remember where I was working. I’m not willing to take that chance yet to stop mid project and see if it saves and remembers where I was. So many little things to plod through and try to make sense of on your own. I’m a self starter, always have been. But there are so many areas the books don’t cover the what if’s…. I’m so thankful I only have the computer system to learn! I also have my husband every step of the way, 2 of us to muddle through it all. Everyone says in a few weeks all the kinks will be behind us and smooth sailing. I’m really looking forward to a stress free day of quilting with no tech calls being made. I think I have experienced every computer error possible, thread breaks, bobbin thread running out, crashes, belts, how I need to load the top to start off well and how to load when there is only 2″, the works! On to quilting up YOUR beautiful quilts!
But today, you will find me handing out thread following the Aurifil schoolhouse @ Market!