Ok, I’ll just say it: There is a part of me that’s a little bit obsessive-compulsive about some aspects of quilting, or certain projects. Here is the latest conversation with my OCQ (Obsessive-Compulsive Quilter) self after quilting one of the motifs in the setting triangles of the current project with some Valdani 35wt (very thick) variegated thread:

Me: This is looking pretty good. See?

OCQ: Hmmm, I’m not so sure about this fat, variegated thread for this quilting design here. I can’t quite decide if I like it.

Me: No, no it’s good, it really is. Isn’t it? I mean, I like the texture of the fat thread, and the cool variegated colors, and I even got the tension to behave so that there aren’t too many spots on the back where the top thread is showing. So it’s all good, right?

OCQ: Well, maybe if the design wasn’t so dense and detailed, it would be better with the fat thread, but for this design, some thinner thread and a color that didn’t show so much would look better. That blue-green variegated is just too much for the quilt, dear.

Me: Ok, maybe you’re right, and it would look better with different thread, but you know, this isn’t for show, it’s for LittleOne’s room in the new house, and it’s just a “get it finished” item off of the Creativity List anyway. It’s not like Quilter’s Newsletter is going to show up at the door for a photo op or anything. I’m using the thread I started with and you just get to live with it.

OCQ: Hmfph. (goes off muttering and mumbling) Read the rest of this entry »

Share This

So, it’s that time again, and this year, it’s the big 4-0 coming up this month. Now, despite the fact that I told DH exactly what I wanted some time ago (it’s a car thing, not a quilt thing, so don’t be surprised when you look at it!), he still looked at me across the dinner table the other night, and asked “What do you want for your birthday??” GRRR. Should be pretty obvious why I usually just buy what I want when I want it. Why wait?

On the other hand, I was really excited when an unexpected package showed up in the mail from my friend Liz! Liz went to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show to see her quilt that was in the show! She started this quilt when she lived here in Germany after taking a class with the Black Forest Quilt Guild, I think, and I’m so happy that it’s finished and she took the plunge and entered it into Mid-Atlantic!

I can’t for the life of me remember what she named this quilt (sorry Liz!), but it’s beautiful! edit: She named it City Lights. This was her first entry into a major show, and it’s so cool that she was able to go to the show to see it there. It’s so exciting to see your own quilt hanging in a show with so many other beautiful ones. Oh, and the package? She shopped while she was at the show, of course, and here’s what she found for me:

I love it! Liz always knows just what I’ll like! These batiks are so yummy, and I LOVE variegated threads. These just may find their way right into my next project! And check out the card:

Now THAT is cool! Definitely one of my favorite things to do: shopping! The card is dimensional, with lots of different textures and gizmos, like the little handles on the shopping bags. Thanks Liz!

Share This

And it’s even mostly finished! This is the new project that I started so that I would have a quilt to use for the Swarovski crystals demo at the guild in March, and I do love the way it turned out. I think if I had to do it again, I would use a different batting, probably a very low loft cotton or something like that. I used a chunk of polyester that I had around, and it’s kinda over-puffy, which I usually like, but for an artsy quilt like this it’s not quite right. I think I discovered this once before, maybe, but as I usually don’t do these types of quilts, it didn’t stick in my head. Live and learn, again. That’s what I love about quilting: there’s always more to learn, and sometimes you even get more than one opportunity to learn something!!

My mom liked it so much, she said “Oooooo - I LOVE that one!” and “As a matter of fact, it would be perfect on a wall in the new house…” Since I had thought that I would eventually ask if my Mom and Dad liked it enough to have it, I took the “hitting you over the head with a brickbat” hint (as she put it!) and told her it was hers!

It really needed to be their quilt anyway, since it made me think of the aspen trees in Pine Valley, Utah, where my parents and I used to camp and hike when I was a kid. I do have some fond memories of those camping trips when I was little, even though camping wasn’t (and isn’t) my thing, and I’m positive that I was a complete pain about it all back then (and oh, am I getting paid back in spades by my own daughter now!).

I could hear the breeze in the aspen trees in my head when I looked at this piece, so I quilted tree trunks in the left border area, waving lines in the middle for wind, and aspen leaves in the right border. I will add a few Swarovski crystals to it before it becomes part of Mom and Dad’s collection. I named the quilt Aspens on my Mind. See bigger pics in the Gallery and let me know what you think!

Share This