Show and Tell and More Progress

I am feeling so much better today.  It only took a day for the house to fall into a disastrous messy pit so I must clean.  Bleh.  Cleaning is one of life's necessities that I could live without.  At the same time...I don't like anyone touching my things so I don't know if I could ever hire a cleaning person, even if I were the sort who could afford a cleaning person!  :)

Before I get to chores I wanted to share a quilt I hadn't posted about.  I had something planned for this but that didn't work out so I'm keeping it and loving it.  :)

It's a coin quilt from scraps...of course, quilted within an inch of it's life because...well...that's how I like to do things.  :)

I have made bias strips before but these were the first vines I had made that were fusible vines.  I think they turned out pretty neat!

 

I just love that sort of folk art style of quilt.  Oh if only the heavens would open up and provide me with an endless supply of fabric, thread and batting!!!  Just think of the quilts I would make!  :)

I love the back of this one.  If this fabric looks familiar...it might be because I loved it so much when I saw it I bought 9 yards of it.  Almost the entire bolt.  LOL*  I have backed TONS of things with it.  I just love everything about it.  It's the perfect backing because it hides the thread nicely, but the flowers are the perfect fall colors that I love and that old timey style I can't get enough of.  I knew I would use it a lot...and I have.  :)

More progress on the feathered wreaths.  I'm going back and forth daily on this quilt as to whether I love it or hate it.  Right now I love it.  :)  I have decided to gift it...so of course now I'm having all sorts of hiccups.  Argh.  I have been spending a lot of time on Cindy Needham's blog lately soaking up her gorgeous quilt inspiration and trying to learn as much from her as I can.  She says to stitch in the ditch - "ESS" - which stands for "Every Stinkin' Seam".  Oh my I just love that.  Well I did not ditch ESS on this quilt...I discovered her valuable rule of thumb a little to late and boy had I wish I had picked up on it sooner.  I'm at the point with this quilt I just don't think I can bare to go back and stitch in the ditch so I'm going to plug on and finish and do it right next time.  I love how SITD really makes the blocks pop too and so I can see for a very simple quilt like this that is really all about the quilting it really counts.  Cindy also says that ditch stitching stabilizes the quilt even further to prevent distortion on really dense quilting...something I could use...and it helps to hide the seams.  Isn't that funny?  It hides the seams and helps focus on the quilting?  If you haven't visited her blog you must.  I've been on this whole cloth kick ever since I played around with that trapunto piece and her blog was just the indulgence I needed.  :)

 

 

You can see the little hiccups...a few wrinkles sewn in...some of that I will blame on my inferior piecing.  This was pieced maybe...six years ago?  Five years ago?  I'm not sure how long but it's been a while.  I think I showed it towards the beginning of this blog.  Anyhow...I will remember for the future...stitch in the ditch.  Every stinkin' seam!  :)

Alrighty off to clean...and sew...and clean some more.  :)

- Valerie