May Longarm Quilting Day

Day number 5 at my friend's longarm studio a couple of weeks ago was productive--after I needed a little 'remind myself' time as I had been away from it for a few weeks. One thing that helps is starting with something small & uncomplicated to warm up to the process again. A community quilt is just the thing--and it feels good to get them done & on their way! I did three projects--but only two are here today. The third is a gift for someone that will need to wait a little while to be 'unveiled'--so it will have it's own little post later on.

The black & white quilt was on my UFO list, and I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. In a bold move (at my friend's suggestion!) I quilting it with red thread to add interest. But it's also noteworthy that with a thread that contrasts so much--every little 'wrong' move becomes quite apparent, so the '6 foot rule' definitely applies! Despite the picture, the quilt squared up very nicely at 65 x 81! Besides my poor photography, I don't have a wall large enough to hang big pieces successfully... I added the binding at our weekend retreat so it's good to go.

The pieces were cut out long ago for a (large) quilt that was a disaster from the beginning. The pattern was incorrect--and after fighting through three blocks to see if I could correct the problem, I just gave up, put it back in the box & told myself that's why I 'cut as I go' when I make things, rather than do all ahead of time. (That's not necessarily a good trait to reinforce!) Truth of the matter is: there are probably two more quilts worth of blocks still in the box--but I'm moving on for now.

This little happy guy is a community quilt that I added the binding and sent on it's way after quilting. Hope it finds a happy home!