More progress!

The last couple of days have been pretty productive, especially for my Solids Challenge quilt! I decided to just go with my original black binding, and figured out a design to quilt that I'm now absolutely loving, and have it more than halfway quilted! And despite not having a walking foot, it's looking pretty good so far. I'm also trying a new-to-me technique that I'm pretty sure I read on a blog somewhere out here in the blogosphere, I just can't remember where. I used painter's tape to mark my straight lines for quilting! I've been stitching on either side of the 2" tape I have and it's been great. I should have taped first, then pinned, but that's a lesson learned for next time. Some pictures!

The back with the black binding added

The black with both front and back main fabrics

Painter's tape as quilting guide

Partially quilted back

With one set of diagonal quilted lines

So you can definitely see in these pictures that there's been a little bit of pulling without a walking foot, but I figure once it's been washed, it'll be harder to see and it's not that bad. I also realized as I was taking the last picture that I put the top and back together upside-down. I meant for the pink stripe to be on the left side with the floral on the bottom and the green stripe to be on the bottom, but that's not how it got put together. Oh, well... It still looks pretty good!

Some of you may be wondering why I already have the black binding on and why it just looks like a big border. The answer is that I "self-bind" most of my quilts, bringing that extra fabric from the back to the front, folding it under, and machine stitching it down. It's a really quick method, and pretty much the only way I've finished a quilt other than turning and tying my very first one. It might be "cheating," but I don't really know another way to do it that wouldn't take me forever. And it usually looks just fine. I'll show you what I mean when it's done, and if I can, I'll add photos of the process.

So that's that! My quilt is nearly finished, and I have a whole week until my deadline! Imagine that...

Yay for lots of progress!

I have a quilt top and back finished! And the batting and thread with which to quilt it! And quite possibly the binding fabric as well, unless I change my mind... which is likely... black is just looking too harsh. And speaking of how it looks... pictures! Not only did I take some, but I uploaded them so I can share!

First... some pictures that are a bit old and should really be of a now-completed quilt and hopefully it will be soon... especially since it's a gift for Melissa. She's already seen the top which has since been signed by the members of the mom's Bible study we were in together before she moved and the names are now all embroidered (an idea I borrowed from her!). I just need to finish it off so I can mail it to her at her new home in Colorado! Anyway, pictures!

This is the semi-assembled top. The overall design is a charcoal grey cross edged in a scrappy strip and the the rest was a solid light yellow, where the signatures are. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the finished product and post it!

Next...

A fun little mug rug for Dex to bring into work and keep on his desk...

And...

The original sketch for my solid quilt design, followed by...

... the plan! I actually drafted a scale version to make sure I cut all the pieces the right size and such, although next time I need to remember to write the measurements I need to cut, not the finished product! I also think I need a bigger cutting mat (hint hint, Mom) for those bigger sections of fabric. It's a little tricky having to fold the fabric to fit on my mat to cut to size... but I managed. Here's some snapshots of the process...

The first two are the color combinations for the front and back, respectively, the third is my pile of strips and other fabric. I thought it was kinda pretty! And now... 

... the finished top! I really like the way the greens work together and with the grey, the blues could use a little help. They just didn't gradiate as well and had more grey tones, especially in this picture! It looks a bit better in person, but not quite as well as I would have liked. But I think Two has already tried to claim it seeing as he was hugging it and wrapping himself up in it. I'm not sure it will be his, however, seeing as the back is much more feminine.

Those are the little pieces of the back waiting for me to sew them all together. And...

... the finished back! I must say I'm a bit in love with this side. The pinks and yellow just work so well together! The solid colors came from the Dusty Kona Cotton charm pack, the grey is the Kona Medium Grey and yellow is Kona Daffodil. The print is an Anna Griffin I have been hoarding in my stash and it was just too perfect not to use. It's pretty much a crib-size quilt, 36" by 44" or so. Now I just need to pin it all together (I even got batting today!) and quilt it.... which is now my dilemma. I got a grey thread to use, but I cannot decide how I want to quilt it! I really like the large pieces of negative space, but they're too big to not quilt at all. And I'm not sure I want the grey thread on the yellow fabric, either. I've also been thinking about staying with a very geometric design versus a more organic theme to soften the overall look. There's also the potential issue of not having a walking foot yet! I've done a little free motion straight line quilting (if that's what you would call it) and it's worked ok, but I'm falling far too much in love with this one to mess it up! Another dilemma I am now faced with is this... I planned on binding the quilt with black. Just plain old stark black. Now that it's all together, I think it's probably a little too stark and harsh. But it would also act as a very nice "frame," which is where I got the idea in the first place. The last problem I have is naming the quilt. So far I've only really come up with "Hermaphrodite" and "Androgyny" because the front is rather masculine while the back is quite feminine. I don't particularly like either of those names, and I think it needs one.

This turned into rather long post, but I had a lot to share! I hope you enjoyed!

New goodies!

So, Two has a birthday party to go to on Saturday for one of his "friends". She's turning two. I decided yesterday that it'd be really nice to make her something, like a little backpack. It has now become, in my mind, a quilted, reversible backpack with buttons. In my mind, it's adorable. So of course, I didn't have the fabric in my stash to make it, so I needed to run out to the store. This, of course, is potentially dangerous for the bank account. So I made myself a list. Two fabrics for the backpack, two fabrics to make a quilted, reversible trick-or-treating bag for Two (I've never made or worked with pre-quilted fabrics, so I thought that would be a better first project), four buttons for the backpack, binding to hide the seams in both projects, and possibly some fabric to make myself an apron. One apron really isn't enough. I mean, what I am supposed to do when it needs to be washed? So that was my list. And I walked out with pretty much only that. And thread. And pipe cleaners. Oh, and an accent fabric for the apron. So not too bad, right? These are the fabrics I chose...

Aren't they great? Obviously the jack-o-lanterns and harlequin print are for the trick-or-treat bag. The cherries (with a button) and polka dots are for the backpack, and that awesome coffee print is the main fabric for the apron with the dots as an accent. I'm thinking a couple of pockets, the neck straps and a waistband if I got enough of it.

When I got home and got Two to take his nap, I started to get all set up to pre-quilt his Halloween fabric. Then I discovered I did not have any empty bobbins (this possibility had crossed my mind while in the store...) or bobbins with black thread. If I was just sewing, not an issue, but this is supposed to be reversible! So, I had a little stall in my plan. I guess I need another bobbin or two... because of course I need one for the red thread for the backpack, too! I guess we have to go back tomorrow... just for empty bobbins!!!