Phew

Look at the simple piecing.  I figured this would take me about a month, maybe two if I took my time.  5 months!  The crooked bandanas?  I was trying to wash out the dye smell and make the fabric less stiff.  100% cotton in hot water.  I am not laundry proficient!  But I learned my lesson.  From there, things just kept going wrong.  But I am so happy it's done!

It's got flaws throughout, most of which I was able to hide.  I was going to take some better pictures, but forgot before it was time to pack it up and mail it off to my step-mother-in-law.  I really hope she likes it!  At least enough to line a stall with it, if need be.  I really need to sharpen my skills.

Autumn Scraps

This was a quick project I actually finished over a week ago.  Just a bunch of scrap fabric that happened to work perfectly for an autumn table runner.

The border fabrics were just laying around waiting for a purpose.  I used a zig-zag stitch to quilt in a rectangle around the patches, then hand quilted the inside.

Well, that's not a great picture of the quilting, but at least you can kinda see where I couldn't get the chalk marking off.

Right now I'm trying to figure out quilted Christmas stockings.  REALLY don't think I'll have these done in time for this year, but maybe next year.

Machine Applique

My first autumn table runner is finally done.

I wasn't happy with my color choices once I had pieced the top, so I added some zaz to it with the appliqued leaves.  It was my first time doing any kind of applique, and I didn't do so hot.

I used a zig-zag stitch with some heavy yellow thread that you would normally use on jeans.  I thought it gave it a country primitive look.  But I messed up several times, and I'm afraid to wash it for fear the leaves will shred.

In the very center, I machine-quilted a design, which I ended up screwing up horribly.  So after carefully picking out the stitches, I hand-quilted the same design.  But it may never look quite right.

And here's the back.  All in all, I like it, and I'll definitely use it.  But it's certainly not up to the standards of being a gift.

Free Motion Machine Quilting

I got my darning foot!  Then I discovered that the feed dogs cannot be lowered on my sewing machine.  I would have to remove them entirely, and I need those for piecing.  So I used the old masking tape trick after setting the stitch length to 0.

After practicing on scraps, I went ahead and tried a meandering design on my latest table runner.

I am a beginner, remember.  There were a lot of times when I couldn't get the fabric to go through the machine at a consistant speed.  My machine is not great for this kind of quilting.  But it got the job done.  This runner was done with all the scraps from my patchwork quilt, the first one I ever completed.

I am going to get in some more practice with this darning foot once I start on my autumn runners.  First, I'm busy with the cowgirl quilt.  Got a ways to go before that one's done.  But I'm getting there.

Simple Machine Quilting

I got tired of hand-quilting, and decided to try doing something simple on my machine that didn't require a darning foot, which I don't have.

So I threw together some scrap blues to also test out spray basting, something I love for small projects.  For quilting it, I just did some crooked lines all over.  So here's my first pieced table runner.

The only thing I bought for this project was the fabric adhesive spray, and the backing.



I'm really proud of how this turned out.  My binding stitches are getting a bit better, and I love the color.  In fact, I was so proud, I cut a new table runner in the exact same pattern with my scrap greens and purples.  But I won't do this type of quilting again.  The crooked lines acheived the look I was going for, but it was SUCH a tedious process!

A New One

Here's a sample from the quilt I am starting for my step-mother-in-law.  She's the ultimate cowgirl princess, so I went with pink bandana material and leftover denim from Andrew's jean quilt.

This one's going to take a while.  But I'm having a lot of fun with it so far.  I found some unusual bandanas online that will be used as whole quilt blocks.  No idea how I'm going to quilt it with the jean pockets on there...

Fun with Hand-Quilting

I enjoyed making this table runner.  Probably the funnest project I've ever done.  I got to use bright colors, polish up my hand-quilting skills and try binding 135 degree corners.

I'm still getting the hang of binding.  Lots of errors there.  But it's a sturdy little thing, and I love the colors!  I hope my cousin likes it as much as I do. 

I'm taking a break from piecing for a while.  There are a few half yard pieces I have that would make neat table runners, so I'm going to get to work on those.  Finishing projects is giving me almost as massive a high as starting them, heh.