Liberated Wedding Ring - The Quilt

The quilting of my Liberated Wedding Ring is finished!

I used thirteen different Glide threads

and tied/buried at least 75 knots along the way.

The finished quilt measures 45" wide by 58.25" long.

(the flimsy was 48" x 60")

(I started this project as part of 

the 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge)

It was very windy when I tried taking these photos,

so my options were more limited than usual.

I do like the way the afternoon sunlight 

through the tree branches plays across the quilt.

 I quilted long rows of echoed spirals 

along each of the four 2" border strips.

This photo was taken with the quilt draped 

over our porch swing to highlight the quilted textures.

I'm very, very pleased with the way this quilt turned out!

Now, for the sake of context,

here is the swing with three of our four swivel gliders.

I cannot tell you how much we have

used these chairs in the few weeks that we've had them.

To go with the new porch furniture/swing,

DH built four small side tables.

Each one has a unique set of four ceramic tiles 

set into the top with lockable casters on the legs.

We tried our first outdoor picnic dinner over the weekend.

Little Man thought it was great fun!

(and yes, he can get into and out of the chairs all by himself)

Quiltdivajulie

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"This is our happily ever after . . ."
Anonymous

Lots of Things Happening

Nine of the twelve RSC-color-prompted rings 

and their four-part setting blocks

in my Liberated Wedding Ring Quilt

have now been quilted.

Only three more rings

(pink, dark-med. blue, and lime green)

and ten more gray segments to go.

Plus the border . . . 

The quilted texture looks good on the back, too.

I've finished hand stitching 

the binding along one long side of GLORIOUS.

The quilt measures 70" wide x 80" long

so I figure it will take me four 

Wednesday morning quilt groups 

to finish the binding all the way around.

I love how GLORIOUS looks with our hydrangeas.

I've started pin basting Dumpster Diving II

which has developed a new secondary name -

Good Morning Sunshine.

I've also decided on thread color

and an overall quilting design.

(yes, I could go with custom quilting

but I was inspired by a vintage utility quilt

so an all-over is more in keeping with that vibe)

I also prepped Rainbow Charms for sandwiching.

One pool noodle holds the backing,

a second noodle holds the batting,

and the third noodle holds the top.

As soon as I finish the Wedding Ring quilt

I'll have enough pins and Pinmoors 

to pin baste Rainbow Charms.

I've finally settled on a quilting design for it

that suits the quilt and won't wear me out.

And I need to order another roll of batting

for the final group of quilts in the Waiting Closet.

(the ones slated for the second half of this year)

* * *

And I shall turn my piecing focus to The Spotted Winkel.

The top is ready to appliqué all of the circles

which is all that needs to be done

before it can be quilted.

I've chosen a thread color and happily found 

a nearly perfect quilting design 

from one of Christina Cameli's books.

I'd REALLY like to get it finished in time

for the lecture/trunk show in St. Louis.

* * *

And until Google/Blogger resolve the problem

with comment notifications by email,

I'll continue to respond to 

your comments here on the blog.

I understand they are now actively working

on a solution to the problem.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Don't try to be different - own the fact that you already are."
Debi Payne

April Recap - 18 in 2018 Efforts

From the Piecing List

Snowballs became Geese for Misty

Destination was scrubbed from the list and

replaced by a Low Volume 25-Patch project

The Spotted Winkel

(my current AHIQ Challenge) 

grew by leaps and bounds

From the Quilting List

There were four lap quilts finished during April:

Scrapbook Quilt

Painted Daisies

Groundhog Day

Stacked Squares

I also participated in Angela Walter's

online Free Motion Quilting Along

and learned SO SO much.

From the Comfort Quilt category

For Jack's Basket:

Gerry's Moons and Stars No. 1 and No. 2

were quilted and finished.

Scrappy Trips Coins quilt was quilted and finished.

My RSC Purple/Lavender quilt was quilted and finished.

My RSC Yellow/Gold quilt was designed, 

pieced, quilted and finished.

For A Doll Like Me: 

I quilted and finished this whole cloth quilt

which is DLM004 in my tracking system.

I also pieced, quilted, and finished a reversible quilt

using lots of RSC purple scraps now known as DLM005.

I really like the texture of the

liberated free motion Topographic Spirals.

Otherwise, lots of scraps were pulled and sorted

for more 20" x 24" quilts using RSC color prompts.

(pinks, yellows, reds, oranges, greens, etc.)

And I cut squares from four different solids

(two greens and two yellows)

for a future four-patch DLM quilt.

(shown in the collage above as pinned-together pairs)

* * *

And in response to a special request from younger son,

I quilted this reversible 37" x 21" dresser runner.

Once again, the topographic spiral design worked beautifully.

(easier to see if you supersize the photo)

* * *

You can see more April accomplishments

by others participating in 18 in 2018

by clicking HERE. 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Nothing gives quite the satisfaction that doing things brings." Sherwood Anderson

March Recap - 18 in 2018 Projects

During the month of March,

I quilted and finished five

of my long-waiting-to-be-quilted tops.

Shown above - left to right:

Plaidmania

Dumpster Diving 3.0 aka Waterfall

Sixteen by Sixteen

I also custom quilted and finished 

Rise and Roost (on the right)

and

Sunflower Summer (on the left).

Two others have been pin-basted

so they are ready to quilt in the coming weeks:

Painted Daisies and Rainbow Charms.

Shibori, 

another of the waiting-to-be-quilted tops,

was taken apart and will be re-imagined

into a completely different quilt top.

(I just couldn't quilt it the way it was)

* * *

I also took the time to create three blog pages

for my 18 in 2018 efforts.

One is devoted to quilting projects,

one is devoted to piecing projects,

and one is devoted to comfort quilts.

It may not matter to others,

but this helps keep my head from exploding

as I track my forward progress.

On the  Comfort Quilt front:

One of the waiting-to-be-quilted tops

was cut apart and refashioned into two comfort quilts.

Peach Cylinders became 

JB001 and DLM001

for Jack's Basket and A Doll Like Me.

(permanent links in the sidebar)

I also pieced, quilted, and finished two of my 

RSC-color-prompted sets of comfort quilts

for Jack's Basket and A Doll Like Me.

L to R:

March was light, bright, and yellow-greens.

January was light and medium blues

(Click here for reveal post's link)

* * *

From the Piecing List:

Groundhog Day moved forward to the point 

that the rows are ready to be stitched together

AND

The Spotted Winkel project moved forward

with wedges cut for the large 39" circle

that will anchor my AHIQ quilt top

and new background fabrics purchased.

There was also a LOT of serious thinking

and significant shuffling about

of waiting projects, pieces, and parts

as I continue to streamline and clarify

what I really want to be working on.

* * *

All in all, March was a very good month in the studio.

CLICK HERE to see what the others 

have accomplished this month.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Every grain of experience is food for the greedy growing soul of the artist."
Anthony Burgess

Rise and Roost - The Quilt

Here it is - the finished quilt!

48" x 62"

Started in 2016 with Sophie's Old Macdonald Mystery Sampler

that combined Block Lotto monthly blocks

with  RSC monthly color prompts.

Of course, I didn't follow all of Sophie's directions.

I changed out a few of the blocks I didn't care for

and I altered the layout to suit myself.

Instead of creating pointy Dresdens,

my sunflowers were created using Sujata's methods

and I turned this one into the summer sun.

And the pink flowers in my quilt 

were spiky plants in Sophie's version.

The quilt's name comes from these words 

in the barn's large haymow doors.

(my barn is quite different than the one in the directions)

And here are the two sister quilts together.

Sunflower Summer on the left

and

Rise and Roost on the right.

I LOVE THEM BOTH!

* * *

Linking this finish with The Rainbow Scrap Challenge

where the current color of the month

features lime, acid, and yellow greens.

CLICK HERE to see more cool stuff

being created by others in the RSC group.

* * *

Woo-Hoo!

I can now cross Rise and Roost

off on my18 in 2018 Quilting List!

Quiltdivajulie

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"Ideas are the wings that change my awareness and give me something to look forward to."
Ella Wilson

Sixteen by Sixteen and FMQ Challenge Week 3

Week Three of Angela Walter's 

online Free Motion Quilting Along

resulted in an actual finish for

Sixteen by Sixteen.

(see link in sidebar for the QAL)

48" x 60" 

This quilt was started in 2016 as part of

that year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Since the top was finished,

it has been hanging in the closet

waiting to be quilted.

The challenge for week 3 was curved quilting.

I stitched orange peels on Little Man's crib quilt

but I used a very different method 

than the one Angela shared last week.

Max and I learned a lot about subtlety and control.

The curves didn't need to be large -

they just needed to be consistent.

And in that regard,

my choice to pull out an actual quilt

instead of making a practice sandwich

proved to have been a wise decision.

Roughly three "L" bobbins of Glide thread

in Lead Gray were used to stitch the horizontals

and two more were used for the verticals.

That meant lots of practice time.

The back is wonderfully scrappy -

pieced using leftovers from Topsy Turvy

and trimmings of fabric from Dragonfly Summer.

I love the way the texture 

makes the back even more interesting.

I was originally going to bind the quilt

using the fuschia-like print in this corner of the back.

But once the quilt was quilted,

it was clear that was no longer the best choice.

Instead I bound it using a concrete-like shade of Grunge

similar in feel to the newsprint alternate squares.

I'm thrilled with the results!

Once the quilt is laundered, it will be soft and cuddly

and perfect for use in the recliner.

* * *

This  finish definitely counts as one of my

18 in 2018 QUILTING goals.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Good teaching is more a giving of right questions 
than a giving of right answers."
Josef Albers