WIP Wednesday

I have decided to name this quilt - Vintage Charm.  I cannot keep calling it my "crap load of applique quilt" or "that one quilt with the blue birds on it", so, because I'm going for the classic, vintage, old feel...I think Vintage Charm is fitting.  I know it's getting a little bit cheese ball...I have this thing about people who take their quilts way too seriously and give them ridiculous names that nobody understands but them.  LOL!  Eyeroll.  Vintage Charm is getting a little geeky pants but at least it makes sense.  :)

I absolutely love the personality this quilt is taking on.  I haven't added much, but what I have added was time consuming.  I finished stitching down all four birds, and also the flowers and leaves in all four corners of the pink center.  Those were several hours of work because with pieces this small I prefer hand applique to machine.  Believe it or not I enjoy hand applique...it's peaceful, and kind of spiritual.  Yes, I went there and got even more cheesy.  It IS spiritual...when it's quiet...and it's just me and my cup of coffee sitting by the kitchen window and watching the snow fall.  When three kids are barreling through the house it's more like a pain in the...you get the picture.  :)

I am still going to add some sort of vining or bias tape or something along those leaves.  I have decided I just don't like the way they look just floating there, with no anchor...nothing to make it make sense.  I have toyed with the idea of cording, piping, thin bias tape...no decisions yet, but it's getting down to the wire so today or tomorrow there will need to be something there.

I also spent about six hours yesterday stitching down the crocheted lace that I had thought I would use on my stockings.  Remember those diamonds that I thought at first were brilliant...then I hated them...and now I love them again!  LOL  I have some ideas for quilting those areas...and if they turn out as lovely in real life as they are in my mind then I'll be thrilled!  LOL

I love how this is looking but I think once it's all together and the quilting begins it will really come alive.  After cleaning up my sorely neglected house after a day of sewing yesterday, I have designed a few applique overlays that will set over the lace and tie in the brown from the Celtic knots.  I can't wait!  I want this to be loaded on the frame and in the quilting stage by next week...this weekend even.  Time is dwindling and quilts will be rolling back in soon - I need to get busy!

One last thing I thought I would share...the Husband and I ordered my Christmas gift a few days ago and I get to know about it early because I'm paying for a good portion of it!  LOL  His gift to me was a good hunk of the down payment on a Juki TL - 2010Q....eeeeeeeeeep!!!  I'm so excited!!!  This is the slightly  newer version of the TL-98 that some of my quilting super heroes use...like Sharon Schamber and Cindy Needham to name a few off the top of my head.  It sews almost double the speed of my Brother and it's an all metal straight stitching machine...with no computer...and I'm super super psyched about it!!!  It can be framed later which I'm planning on doing, and if I take care of it, it should out live me.  Woooooohooo!!  I cannot open it until Christmas but as soon as I do I'll do some comparisons of it with my other machines and maybe some videos on how it sews.  I'm beyond thrilled!!

Heirloom Stockings

Eeep!  I broke down and decided to play this evening.  I have been wanting to make these fancy quilted heirloom style stockings for my daughters for a while.  My favorite way to quilt is just goofing around...winging it and playing as I go along.  So that's what I did.

I really like how they are coming out!  Of course after I posted pictures on Facebook I discovered I missed a spot.  Whoops!  LOL

This is two layers of batting - something I'm really really liking.  I love poofyness.  I bought a roll earlier in the year of Quilters Dream Poly Request...it is their lowest loft polyester batting.  I bought it because it is inexpensive but gives the look of cotton.  I have since learned that if I want the look of cotton...I'll just use cotton...however...polyester has some great benefits!  This batting doesn't wrinkle like cotton when folded...and layered up...it is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!  Two layers of poly request is seriously my new favorite batting!!!  :)

I pulled all these bits of lace and tatting - is it tatting??  Anyhow I pulled it out with a few linens and had originally planned to put them on the stockings...but now that I've finished quilting one...I like it so much I don't know if I want to cover it up with lace!!  LOL  So we'll see if I can figure out a way to incorporate these or not.  I am kind of thinking maybe the fancy quilting side will be the front...and I'll do a pretty floral quilted backing with bits of lace incorporated.  I definitely want beads...these are completely Cindy Needham inspired stockings!!!  :)

What are you up to?