Thankfully not a lump of clay

I often go to Starkville's Happy Hoopers quilt guild meeting on Thursday mornings.

But I was lured into staying home today by this sight.

My phone camera cannot quite capture the fluffiness of this quilt.  I can tell you that it brought a smile to my heart.  I couldn't resist sitting down to continue stitching.

As I worked, I started thinking about my brother Chris and his pottery.

I couldn't help compare quilting to pottery making.

But first, look at that beautiful "in the ditch" quilting!! And the fairly even stitch length I'm managing to get (no stitch regulator means I have to feed the fabric under the needle evenly myself.)

So, Chris had a pottery kick wheel.  After several minutes of preparing the clay to get the air bubbles out, he'd drop the lump of clay in the middle of the wheel table.  If it wasn't perfectly centered, he'd pick it up and drop it down again. Then he'd start kicking the wheel until he had it at speed he wanted.  Carefully, he leaned over the spinning wheel and cupped wet hands over that lump.

His hands would press down and then in, and that lump of clay became a flat mound of clay.

I'd watch him work.  Kicking every once in a while to keep the speed consistent.

 I'd watch as his thumbs pushed into the center of the mound of clay and magically a bowl with thick chunky walls would appear.

He'd reach for a wet sponge because he wanted to keep the clay pliable for shaping into a fine pot or bowl or cup.  It was mesmerizing to watch.  His hands were amazingly steady because the slightest slip would throw the whole piece off balance.   The only thing to do when that happens is to smash the clay into a lump again and start all over.  Oh the heartache when this happens so close to the very end!! 💔

Pottery by Chris Hernandez.
Thr Bronco quilt in the background was made by me!!

And that's where I was at in my stitching. "George" doesn't have a stitch regulator.  My foot controls the speed.

My hands have to be steady moving the quilt sandwich under the needle to get straight even stitches.

A slight jog of my hands and my stitches "jumped the ditch."

If this was intended to be a "show" quilt that would to be entered for completion, I would take the stitches out.  Unstitching all the way back to a spot where starting and stopping wouldn't be as noticable.  

But today I am thankful this is a practice quilt and I'm "ok" with leaving those stitches as they are! 

No lump of clay here!!  

I finished the "in the ditch" quilting. Next for the Baby Girl quilt will be to bury all the thread ends - each fabric piece has a pair of start and stop threads.  Each block has 6 fabric pieces. Which means each block has at least 24 ends for me to tie, then thread onto a needle and hide those ends in the middle of the quilt layers.  This is the most secure way to be sure the stitching won't come out.  I don't mind the effort because it's worth the peace of mind that my work won't fall apart in the wash.

~~~~~

This evening I basted Sweetling's quilt!!

I have no idea how many pins I used.  I ran out of my own basting pins and had to borrow a few safety pins from Sweets.

I'm so happy there won't be any "in the ditch" on this quilt! The plan is the traditional 1/4" from the seam. Ha, a little "jog" won't be noticable 😆.

But there is something for me to think about... This quilt has ten fabric pieces per block. Therefore, even more ends to bury!! Maybe I should bury ends as I go on and not leave them all until the end.

 I might start stitching first thing in the morning!!