What a difference a day makes

Today I am feeling much better about this wholecloth.  I made good progress today and I am pretty happy with the way it looks so far.  I also figured out a way to be able to use black thread for the background fill AND see it!  A really stupidly simple solution too...a yellow light bulb in my side light.  It cuts way down on the glare from the shiny fabric and from the side, still creates enough of the right kind of light to be able to see the stitches... even when using black thread.  Whew! Is that ever a load off!

So, I'll leave you with some progress pictures (ignore the chalk marks) while I take my wine and go float in the pool for a bit.













Have a great night!

I think I've Lost My Mind...

Today I loaded the fabric for the "Seasons of the Moon" wholecloth.  Black crepe-back satin.  I love the weight and the sheen.  I needed something that would be heavy enough to support the weight of the four smaller moon quilts without distorting. This seemed to fit the bill.  But.... there are a whole host of issues.

First, I couldn't keep it stable enough to mark before loading so I decided to load it and mark as I go...it will decrease the precision somewhat, but time is more critical at this juncture.

Second, finding a marking tool that would show up enough to see, without tearing or picking the fabric. There were many rejects.  I finally settled on the clover white marker for critical detail stuff and school chalk for the more forgiving parts.

Third, the thread...I can't see black well enough to use it, even for the background fill. The darkest thing I can see is So Fine Smoke. But there is still a good bit of contrast with the black, so all the wobbles will show.  Also, it presents a problem delineating the design motifs from the background fill.  I think(and hope) if I echo all the motifs with a 1/4"  outline, that might solve that issue.  Normally I would use a high contrast for the wholecloth, but in this case I don't want the wholecloth to overpower the smaller moon quilts that are attached to it.

The batting is warm and natural...I needed something very heavy and very dense to support the weight and hang decently.  The backing is a moda marble wideback, prewashed.  And I'm getting some batting poking through the back!  Moda marbles are notorious for this.  Just one more headache I didn't need!  But at least my tension is perfect.

I'm  hoping it starts going a little faster now that I've gotten the marking and other  issues worked out(I think), I could sure use all the good mojo you care to send this way!  Quite a few times today I almost quit and took it off the frame.  I considered just putting black cotton on and doing something less stressful that I could do freehand.  But, the little bit I did get done looks decent enough to encourage me  on.  So I'll keep at it and hope for the best.

If you're still with me after that rant, I guess you deserve a look.  Ignore the weird color...the color really is black...the flash washed it out.









Time for a glass of wine!

Thanks for listening.

The Last Moon

"Jellicle Moon"  quilted, though like the others not trimmed or edge finished.

[caption id="attachment_894" align="alignnone" width="128" caption=""Jellicle Moon""][/caption]













I struggled with how to incorporate these 4 quilts into 1  to be shown.  My solution  was to quilt a wholecloth using some of the designs from the 4 individual quilts and then mount them onto the wholecloth...just at the top so the rest would be free . That way the judges can inspect the backs of the 4 moon quilts and the wholecloth underneath.

The wholecloth is in progress now.  It's a race against the clock.  They have to be received at MQS by 5pm May 6th.  Which means I'll be shipping mine next day air, I'm sure!   I always seem to be down to the wire....

Guess I'd better get back to work!

Another Moon

As promised...

Here is "Snow Moon" is finished. Not trimmed or edged finished, but quilted.

[caption id="attachment_885" align="alignnone" width="132" caption=""Snow Moon""][/caption]





With the dark fabrics, it's hard to get good photos of the quilting.  Here are a few of the back so you can see the details better.







Next time, you'll get to see "Jellicle Moon".

Have a great night!

Seasons of the Moon...

I'm making good progress on my quilts for MQS, though still quite a bit to do.  This morning I finished quilting "Sultry Moon" so I thought I let you see that.  Not trimmed or edge finished yet, but at least it's quilted!

[caption id="attachment_876" align="alignnone" width="143" caption=""sultry moon""][/caption]













Tomorrow I should have the quilting finished on "Snow Moon" .

Time for a dinner break, then back to work!

Home Again

Did you miss me?  I had a nice trip and saw lots family including of course, my sweet grand-girls.  I took lots of pictures...but with my DD and DIL's cameras...none with my own.  Hopefully they will send me some of the pictures so I can share them.

Now that I'm back at home, the rush is on to finish my MQS quilt entries... and to finish the final prep for my classes.  I'm working dawn to dusk in order to get everything done by the shipping date that is less than 2 weeks away.

I'm on schedule so far, in that I have gotten a lot of appliqué done,  and should be ready to load for quilting by Sunday.

One of my quilts requires buttons (again). Not as many as last years quilt, and these were less time consuming to make.  But again, I made my own buttons...never can seem to find just what I need already made.

So, button pictures is what you get tonight.  This is what I start with;



And then add the charmeuse:



And they become this:



Add some swarovski crystals in colors to coordinate....



And viola!  Custom buttons.



Looks a bit glitsy now, but it works with the overall plan...trust me :)

A post from my iPad

Got my new iPad today and I'm loving it! I have already loaded my kindle books on it, downloaded iWorks, synced with my iPod, and added several apps.

As soon as my dock and VGA cord arrive(Monday), I'll be able to do even more.

This thing will change my life....at least the amount of electronic stuff I have to haul around!

I am one happy camper today!