Quilting on the Home Front!

I hadn’t picked up my hand quilting in a couple weeks – being gone to Michigan, and then up at the cabin working on other things.

It felt really good to settle in last evening, put a bit of NCIS New Orleans on ((I’m still not sure how I feel about this spin off??)) lean back in my recliner side of the couch and put some stitches in.

I’ve had loads of questions about this project, so I thought I would take some time this morning to share some answers with you!

You can learn more about this quilt HERE.  It’s an “orphan quilt” Meaning it is made from random left over blocks from other projects.  This one is for me.  There will be no pattern available for this quilt, but you can use these ideas to make an orphan quilt of your own!

Things I have discovered…with all of these seams I like a smaller needle.  I am using a Roxanne size 10 instead of my usual 9.  It makes a difference – the thinner the shaft, the less I fight with getting it through the layers.
I am using YLI quilting thread in navy.  I like contrasting thread when I hand quilt!  Why do all that work if it is going to be invisible?

 

The package looks like this..tube with a cute sea shell on top!

There are 50 needles in a tube for about $8.00

The needles have a large eye and are easy to thread!

Working on the next section!

This Baptist fan pattern is being marked using a stencil.  Because I started it that way back in 2007 and I feel the need to finish it that way.

I think the lines are a bit too far apart for my liking, but I’ll finish it, because I started it that way.  ((Read that to mean, I just want this done!))

I do my basting by long arm with a very large meander and a very large stitch length.  This is crucial because Baptist fans are worked from the outside of the quilt toward the center.  Check my Baptist Fans article to see what I mean!  Whether using a stencil, or quilted free hand, the process is the same -- outside in!

As far as my marking goes….it always depends on what I am marking.  Is it light? Is it dark? Is it very printy and hard to see markings on?

I’ve found I really like the general’s chalk pencil in light  gray:

I can see it on the lights, I can see it on the darks…

And in the process of handling the quilt during quilting and moving the hoop, the marks are mostly gone by the time I am done quilting an area.  I do not like to use blue wash-out markers unless I absolutely have to, and if I do, I spray the area as soon as I am done to remove those marks as quickly as possible.

Chiropractor appointment this morning, and then meeting up with friend Karen afterward – she is going to show me one of the historic places that she is working on as the interior designer for the project.  I love old buildings…I’ll take photos!

Tomorrow morning it’s off bright and early for me. I’ll be leaving at  6am for the airport on my way to San Diego! Woot!

Oh, and let me say this much ---I have something SERIOUSLY SNEAKY to post tomorrow morning as I leave town.  Some kind of reveal that is going to blow your socks off.  So don’t miss it --

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