Progress on the Unnamed Whole Cloth Quilt

One more week until school resumes. I have been working diligently in my spare hours in an attempt to establish some semblance of organization so that I have a permanent creative space. Things are coming along. The long arm is set up - with two of the bars loaded onto the frame incorrectly so, with help, I hope to swap them around and get my machine up and running this week. I wonder if I will remember how to load a quilt?

Many years of memories had been tucked away in boxes and piled around my long arm. Though I turned it on a few times, and more than once attempted to sew, all of those feelings were not quite ready to be sorted through. I have finally begun that process, and purging things I no longer need to hang onto. I suppose this is one of those spring time rituals many of us share. The daylight lingers a little longer in the evenings, Christmas is finally over, and it feels as though it is time to start anew.

More work on my unnamed whole cloth. Above you can see the full view. It is not very big, a wall hanging size. I used a fat Moda solid fat quarter on the top in a minty green. Full disclosure, I did use a filter to help highlight some of the detail. When finished, I will take photographs in natural lighting to share with you the truest representation of this piece.

This quilt is entirely free hand, no marking, just play. I have such an appreciation for well planned designs that pay special attention to size, shape, consistency, and balance. Show pieces have always been my passion and fascination; the ultimate goal to aspire to. This quilt, however, follows no rules. The complexity in its quilting is a bit paradoxical to its free form nature.

The plan to finish is really no plan at all. I love fancy schmancy things and fancy schmancy quilts and so I think this calls for beads and some painting. Many faces twist and turn with a puzzled look as I explain that I will paint my quilt. I see it as a canvas waiting for emotion to be applied. The painting will add shading and dimension and mood - and with hope add to the overall feeling of  the piece. The goal is not to cover or alter the quilt, but rather, to enhance the feeling it invokes.

For those who are curious the makeup of this quilt, I have shared that the top is a Moda solid fat quarter, the backing an inexpensive calico from likely a box store, and the thread is a mix of cotton on top from Connecting Threads and Glide which is a popular shiny polyester thread. The batting is two layers of Hobbs 80/20 which has become my favorite go to quilt batting and what I use for virtually everything. Though I enjoy long arm quilting, this was quilted on a Juki TL-2010Q sit down domestic sewing machine. For quilting enthusiasts, this is the model that came out shortly after the Juki TL 98, the machine that became infamous among members of the quilting community through the instructional videos of quilting legend Sharon Schamber.

Currently, this piece is blocking on a craft table I have unfolded and allowed to dominate the kitchen. As I have mentioned, I no longer have the space to sew that I once had, but difficult circumstances have never proven to stop me from pursuing my interests. Besides, it's the evening and no cooking will happen until tomorrow. Let's hope it dries quickly.

Other things on my mind: I have yet to figure out how to reply to your comments. Let me tell you I loved reading your comments! It feels so nice to be welcomed with such warmth back into the quilting world. Creative people love to share, and even more we love eager spectators to our crafting sport. So know that I appreciate your words, and that you have taken time to visit. Once I have a moment to sort out the glitches I will try to respond to your kind contributions.