Table Runner on the Gammill

Once in a while, I feel inspired to create something for a specific person.  This was the case with my table runner project.  I wanted to create something for Eygló.  I actually went through 2 different color schemes, and 3 different ideas within the chosen scheme. 

I keep saying I'll work on my shortcomings in the measuring department, but I never do.  In this case, I like the effect.  Feels more home-made and fun.  I've never been a girl to appreciate painstaking perfection.

This is the quilting machine I won from Quiltmaker Magazine.  Never dreamed I would have a Gammill, but thought I had a better chance of affording one some day than winning one!  This is the first project I have entirely machine quilted on this baby.  So... there are a lot of bumps on the road.  I am still getting used to the tensions, and where not to oil!

Here's what the quilting looks like.  Laugh all you want.  I need the practice and I know it.  But I do like how it appears more whimsical because of my very low skill level.  More fun, less strict.  Here's front and back:

And the pretty photo:

I needed this distraction.  Before the piecing was done, I spent some time in the hospital for a kidney infection, and have been feeling down due to my recent MS diagnosis.  This is the project that I've been working on as I came through the other side of my funk, remembering that I do love to quilt.  That I will always quilt, no matter what tools I have, how little I can spend on fabric, or what my mobility looks like.  When it's something you love, there's always a way.

So it's a pretty special project, and I hope it transfers the feelings of triumph and joy to its new owner.