The countdown has started...

Right now, so my focus is on getting Sweetling's college quilt done before she flies off to school.

I'm starting to feel the time crunch.

It's not just about getting it done, it's about getting it done exactly the way she wants it.

The meandering circles on the blue quilt didn't give the result she wants. 

We discussed individual circles in each fabric piece. She didn't think that would work either.

We put Press n Seal over a block and tried filling in the pieces with 2 or 3 circles. However, I told her that my control over maneuvering the fabric isn't consistent yet and my circles might be ovals.  She informed me that ovals will not be acceptable. 😆.

After more discussion, and explaining that the more dense the quilting means less loft from the batting.  It's the fluffiness that's most important to her.

We concluded that the traditional 1/4" stitch away from the seam would do the trick.

Alright! I'll stitch the baby girl quilt as close to that effect as I can and see if that gets the final approval from her.

First, I gotta make sure the thread tension is going to be ok with this high-loft batting.

I used an extra block and the left over batting and stitched some designs I thought I might do on the baby girl quilt.  

I really love it. And the tension was just fine.

I was ready to move onto the baby girl quilt!

The closest quilting technique on this quilt would be to "stitch in the ditch" to best show Sweets how her quilt will look

I went at snail's pace to keep the stitching close to the seam.

And it's really not bad for stitching without a stitch regulator.  ( On a side note - probably stitching on the domestic machine with a walking foot would have worked better for this, but it's all about the practice!)

Which, jumping the ditch shows I can use plenty of practice here.

I got about 4/5ths of the stitch-in-the-ditch quilting done today.  Sweets really likes the results.  There's a lot of thread ends to bury because it's a lot of starts and stops.  I don't mind.  But I have decided I'm not going to fill in the baby girl quilt with more quilting.  I don't have the time. I like to but I really need to get back to stitching on Sweetling's quilt! 

The count down has started, 

just 31 days until she's on the plane to NYC!!

(I'll have to remember the binding alone will probably take 3 days!)

Practice and more practice...

Practice.

My Sweetling wants circles quilted on her college quilt. (The beginning of this story starts in this blog update here: One thing leads to another.)

I'm not confident enough to start quilting it yet though.  I want it to be perfect for her.

Since the blue quilt is a miniturized version of hers, it's perfect for practice.

I thought I'd try a meandering loop design.

Quilting with Glide variegated quilting thread and 80/20 cotton/poly batting.

The quilt is approximately 36" x 45".

The George is fantastic!  With the loose meandering the quilting was done in just about 3 hours!

That's amazing.  It's going to take longer to attach and turn the binding than it was to quilt it!

The backing fabric is busier than I thought it would be.  You can't see the quilting very well.

I am pleased that there aren't any puckers.  It proves that careful basting pays off.

But Sweets wants her quilt to feel fluffier.  I think she'd like it more like a comforter.

So we went to Hobby Lobby and got a 100% poly high-loft batting.  And I spent about an hour this evening basting the baby girl quilt.

The quilting won't be the meandering loop design. But I will be able to practice with the same thread and batting I'll use for Sweet's quilt.

Hopefully, after quilting this one more "practice"  piece, I'll be ready to tackle the real one 😉.

Julia Graber Day (and You are my Sunshine!)

Yesterday, Karen A. and I rode up to Corinth with Julia Graber (Life as a Quilter.)  We helped unload quilts, and portable design walls, and a suitcase full of quilt tops and product for sale.  Julia gave us pictures of the way she wanted her presentation boards set up.  And during her presentation, Karen and I held up the quilts as she spoke about each one.  Haha, I wish I was counting how many quilts she took.  I probably would have lost count anyway.  There were a lot. Tons! literally. Julia does heavy quilting which makes quilts quite weighty 😉.

I made myself Julia's personal assistant for the day.

Heh, that only means that I watched her closely for anything that she might need me to do for her, which was hardly anything. I moved her vehicle after we unloaded her quilts and got her a water sometime during the day, that's about it.

Because I had appointed myself her personal assistant, I had a perfect view to see a truly amazing event.

From the moment we walked through the doors, my friend Julia Graber, was the Honored Guest.

I watched the admiration and awe the members of Cross City Piece Makers Quilt Guild have for Julia.

It warmed my heart to witness their sincere pleasure to have her with them for the day.

Every moment was filled with questions and conversation.

I caught her just between moments. 

And again a little later, as she was explaining "Mother's Quilt"

And as she started her introduction (before Karen and I were needed to hold quilts.)

oh yes!  I don't think she'll mind me telling.. behind the scenes, Julia made sure I knew she wanted the quilters to know they could handle her quilts.  She said, "after you hold the quilts, I want you to put them on the table any old way. You don't have to fold them a certain way or place them carefully. I want the ladies to know they can look and handle any of them if they want.'  Isn't she wonderful?!

I think there were members of at least three different guilds present. So awesome!!

Thank you, Cross City Piece Makers, for inviting Julia and recognizing her accomplishments and her even greater talent.  To me, the day felt like a special Celebration of Julia Graber.  And I love you for it!!

And the "cherry-on-top," was that I won the silent auction on 4 quilt tops!!

At just $1 each!

Isn't this green one fantastic?!

The first three are machine pieced and this last one is hand pieced!! 💕
The cashier was surprised when I paid more than I owed but I'd gladly have paid even more if I had more cash on me!  Thanks for the wonderful day CCQG!!

Today I stayed home and finished Ina's Sunshine wallhanging.  She appliqued the sun and asked me to do the quilting on the "George."  Then I attached a thin binding, and sewed on a hanging sleeve.  I am thankful and relieved that she was happy with the final results!

You are my Sunshine!

Yes, I think that's a perfect ending for this update! 🌞🥰