“Sharing the Process” - Part 4

Just a bit more progress.  

I reported in the last progress update that I used scraps from the project to make a decorative border for the center panel.  It took some tweaking, but I’m very happy with it. I had so much fun making these strips that I’m thinking of making a quilt with nothing but these.  Another retirement project!

I played with the placement of blocks around the center panel.  Once I was happy, I left it all on the design wall to marinate.

A couple of weeks later I thought, “what if the center panel wasn’t in the center?”  It didn’t take me long to figure out that wouldn’t work.  Oh, rabbit hole is calling me.

The center panel with the inner borders attached measures 42.25” x 47”, which should be fairly easy to maneuver for quilting on a domestic machine.  

After attaching the panel border, I trimmed down to a uniform size the blocks that will surround the panel.  Any shortage will be compensated by the machine embroidered designs I have stitched.  The plan here is to stitch the blocks together in rows, QAYG the rows, then join all the units together to finish it.  

Lord knows that I can’t wait to be in my new studio with taller ceilings and much better lighting…

I have had lots of ideas for the quilting design on this quilt, but what keeps coming back to me is the use of thoughts running through my head (because that’s what I’m doing) and I need to memorialize those words—I know there can come a day when I lose those words and thoughts.  I’m fairly decent at “writing” with my sewing machine while quilting, but I’ll test it first on a sandwich.  I have been watching videos on YouTube about QAYG methods, tips, etc.  I found another overthinker (yay!) and am especially grateful for her explaining different methods she has tested.  As I learned with Minky, it’s better to learn about what you shouldn’t do before you tackle the project. 

One more consideration—the batting.  My go-to is a 80/20 cotton-poly blend.  I like Quilter’s Dream and Quilters Select brands the most.  This quilt will hang on a wall and I have no plans for it to cover anyone, so I’m using Hobbs Thermore (100% polyester, and very thin) for ease of quilting and draping purposes.  I used it in a quilt I made over 20 years ago and noted how easy it was to quilt.  

More thinking ahead.  I hope I don’t end up with a hot mess.

All of this took place back in early September.  Since then, we have delivered and set up Katrina’s longarm in her new longarm studio, and set up Cindy’s new Bernina Q20, a sit-down longarm machine.  Both have encouraged me to use their machines.  I don’t want to do it on the longarm because I know my quilting ideas will continue to marinate and ramble, and I don’t want to tie up Katrina’s longarm.  And I told Cindy she needs to play with hers and get comfortable with it before I come shadow her and watch her process.  I’m alternating between FMQ and digitizing quilting designs for specific areas on the quilt.  I think I need a week off from work, but that’s not happening anytime soon.

In other news, progress on the house!  Slab, Framing, roof, ductwork, plumbing, electrical, appliance purchases, flooring and countertop selections.  We still have fireplace logs, garage doors, lighting and paint color selections to make.  It’s a bit overwhelming at times and it’s the main reason I have not attended to the blog.  There are more photos on the Home on Top of the Ridge page.

And yesterday, I took “Sharing the Process” off the design wall.  With all the stuff of the new house messing with my brain and taking up my time, I’m hard-pressed to focus on the quilt.  I’m not giving up on it; I will work on it when the new studio is set up, so it will get finished in late 2023.  I hope. 

In the meantime, I am working on some small makes for Christmas, another baby quilt (still a NESTY) and an opportunity to complete a 20-year-old UFO for a dear friend that is soon moving into a new home and, I hope, turning a page in her book of life to a new and happy chapter.  I’m also packing some stuff in the studio that I haven’t used since we moved in; it’s getting crowded in here and the more I have ready to move, the better off we are.

I hope you had a marvelous Thanksgiving and enjoyed (or resisted; your choice) the many Black Friday-Small Business Saturday-Cyber Monday offerings.  I bought some machine embroidery designs for another NESTY that’s on my mind and a couple of patterns.  I have bought fabric but it was 5 yards of a particular line I want to use for a Christmas quilt in the new house and it was from someone on Facebook that was rehoming the fabric—win-win in my book.

Go make!