Friday, August 1, 2014

Quilting Disasters (with a capital D)

I have a second quilt entered into the Canberra Quilters Exhibition. Entries are due in 8 days, and I'm trying not to panic. I was on schedule - I had already pin basted it, and then started quilting it on Wednesday night.

image

Holy moly did that sucker pucker! I did about 12 lines before I realised that was a lot of unpicking to do. I went to my fave quilting peeps, the Southern Cross Quilters on Facebook, and asked for advice. I received extremely good advice, but most of it I was already doing. Some I won't do (like spray baste). And some I could take on board.

IMG_9887

And then in a fit of impatience I did something I really shouldn't have done. I changed the quilting design. I figured I would try some straight line diagonal quilting at different intervals. Like matchstick quilting, only bigger. Chopstick quilting, perhaps.

Another 14 lines and I realised that it was also puckering. I could have cried, but you know, it's just quilting. There are children in Gaza and Ukraine who have more reason to cry.*

And then I remembered I had purchased a straight line quilting class last week on Craftsy, presented by the wonderful (no really - she is wonderful. I'm not exaggerating) Jacquie Gering.  I went to the patchwork store after work, bought some 100% cotton batting (because it's stickier than the wool batting I was using), and when I got home I made a cup of tea, cracked open the Dairy Milk Block, and watched Jacquie while she re-educated me in the gentle art of straight line quilting while I unpicked the mess I made.

IMG_9893

Six hours later I was done (I kept getting distracted watching Jacquie, and then our internet blew up because of the weather, and then I got distracted watching The Good Wife (how GOOD is that show? If the Diane Lockhart character isn't one of the most fascinating female characters on TV, I don't know who is. Complex. So complex)).

IMG_9888

This morning the internet finally came back on, so I watched Jacquie while having breakfast, drinking coffee, getting dressed for work, and yes, even in the bathroom while putting my makeup on.

IMG_9894

Best class EVER. Yes, even ribbon-winning quilters ( ha ha) can forget stuff they learned 15 years ago. Things like the fact it's a WALKING foot, not a running foot!  Ooops!

I shall be re-basting my quilt tonight. Fingers crossed for my second time around. I really want my quilting idea to work! I absolutely love this quilt - it has become my new favourite.

Oh! My blog turned 10 last Monday! And I missed it! Ten years! That's a whole lot of nothing talked about right there! Perhaps I should celebrate - after next Saturday perhaps!  A tutorial? A giveaway?


I'm joining in on I Quilt again today. Check out the other I Quilters on the Pretty Bobbins blog
i quilt blog button


*I'm not trying to be light hearted about the stuff that is going on in Gaza and Ukraine and elsewhere in the world. The truth is that this world has become a truly horrible place for so many, and I feel so helpless. So, so helpless. But all I can really do is pray, and (nicely) educate those who don't understand about the history. Even I didn't understand it fully until recently. So go - educate yourself. Pray. Protest. Despair. Think kind thoughts of others and say nice things. Appreciate this life that you have. Work to make the world nicer.

3 comments:

  1. Agreed, both on making the world nicer and the awesomeness of jacquie. Hope it is all smooth sailing from here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The world is very sad at the moment I have been desperately sad over recent event. Prayer and faith help. I feel guilty about my life continuing as normal ... quilting etc.

    Love Jacquie Gering too and love her class. Hope the class works out well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You can download crafts to watch offline in the iPad. No more internet hassles when watching.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! I love reading your comments, but if you're anonymous please tell me who you are.