Sparky's Mummy Made. . .

I completed two long-term WIPS, Rainbow Monkeys and Seville. Here’s Sparky with Rainbow Monkeysand Seville in the final stages of completion.

When I made the rainbow Kite Flight blanket for a friend’s baby, another friend said that if she ever had a baby she would like a quilt like it. So. . .here is the start of Rainbow Kite Flight II. It was a bit different in that I didn’t buy 1 1/2 in skinny strips; I cut 2 inch strips myself.

The top came together quite quickly, but it was a while until I actually finished the quilt.

I have always been terrified of quilting, the actually quilting of the top, batting, and backing together. I used to have access to a gigantic quilting machine, but I no longer have access to it. I’ve used a walking foot, but it stresses me out so much. I’m not good with it. I find it hard to not have the layers go crazy. I hate juggling the size of the quilts – it’s so awkward!

I’d always assumed that free motion quilting would be SO difficult -but I decided to get a foot and give it a go. My first try with the foot was the centre heart of the Rainbow Monkeys quilt.

I have the modern Japanese fabric quilt top finished, so decided to use it to practice. I need practice in order to learn, so decided to use it. I decided to just go for it and scribble to get the feel of the free motion foot.

It was kinda awful, but I was getting the feel of it. I was also using some thread that was AWFUL. So much FLUFF in my machine – and I think in cleaning it out I messed up the tension somehow. It was kinda awful. This was the 2nd time I’d cleaned out the machine that day:


However I was getting a feel for stippling. It was actually coming along well!

I mentioned what I’d been doing at my favourite fabric shop, Frangipani Fabrics, and Cath mentioned that there was a free motion quilting class coming up. I signed up immediately. It was great, but I need to do a lot of practice!

More practice at home”

And more:

I enjoyed the class a lot, and then I looked at the teacher’s website. I’ve looked at it before, but this time I was not just looking at the free motion quilting enviously but also looking at the skill. Suddenly it hit me how not just silly it was for me to be frustrated that I wasn’t immediately good at it but it was also insulting of me. She’s a professional. She took time to learn how to do her work.

I’m trying to remember this. I’m trying not to bad-mouth my efforts (I’m not succeeding but being aware even when I don’t succeed is a first step!). I’m trying to do a bit every day; to learn this. I’m trying to enjoy doing this, because if I’m stressing out about something that’s a hobby what is the point?!

Since my post about my MIL’s quilt a month ago, my blog was down for a bit, but I finished the quilt! I wanted to get it done before she left overseas, and I’m glad I did. If I didn’t I was going to leave it there for her to see when she arrived – but this way I saw her reaction. She genuinely looked pleased – and she loved the backing fabric and frame borders that the lovely staff at Frangipani Fabrics helped me find.

Finished quilt.

Verso.

MIL’s quilt in situ.

She honestly looks pleased with it.

In February 2012 I had an idea for a quilt and started out making ‘Rainbow Monkeys’. I had no idea what I was doing, but I really liked the quilt. I used a computer to figure out the colours:

But I had no idea how to actually execute it. I basically started with the 4 middle blocks in dimensions that made sense to me, drew the others around them, then cut the other pieces out to use as templates for cutting fabric!

A year later, and in the new house, I made some more progress.

By March 2013 I was finished!

March 2014, and it was still one of my WIPs.

Part of the reason it stayed a work in progress for so long was that I LOVED it. When I started it, Sparky was only 5 months old. It was really hard to work on in the old house where I sewed on the dining room table, so I had to pack up or we had nowhere to eat. Once I’d finished it in the new house, I couldn’t decide if it was finished. I really liked it, and Sparky liked it, so I thought maybe I should make it bigger! But part of the reason against that is I’ve learned so much more since I started it. You would really see a difference in the quilting. That’s good – but might look a bit bad in the finished quilt – or at least detract from it. I’ve been thinking of quilting it as a small practice quilt.

I think this is something I should take some time out for. I plunged into quilting not knowing what I was doing or how to do it, making my own mistakes instead of bothering someone with questions. Also I used to have access to a gigantic quilting machine, so I didn’t take any time to learn to sew on my domestic machine. It is time I did – and time I go easy on myself and start small. I’m certain it’s something that takes time, which I don’t usually give to myself. I should – give myself the gift of time to learn.

Late this morning my husband took the boy out for a place, so I spontaneously decided to finish this quilt off! No over think it, just finish it off.

I’ve kinda parked the idea of making this quilt larger; I’d like to made it again someday. And I think I could make it better, so that frees me to consider this a practice. So, meh, I didn’t mind using up bits and pieces of batting.

I decided to try to do spiral quilting again.

Pinned!

I’d gotten some rather lovely rainbow thread, so decided to use that.

After doing the spiral, I decided to put a heart in the centre. I’ve gotten a free motion thingsy – but I’ve been scared to try it. The first side of the heart (right) didn’t go so well, but after that I turned the machine’s speed down and thr right side went much better. Not perfect, but I’m happy to have given myself the experience.

I even got the bindings onto the front of the quilt, but I didn’t get a photos. So all that’s left to do is hand sew the bindings down to the back!