Monday, May 12, 2014

quilting along

 really, i have not much to report on the sewing and quilting front since i'm still plugging away at the dogwood quilting on my penny patch quilt. that and a few bouts of handbinding whilst at the park and during movie night with my daughter is it. that's why it's been so quiet on the blog.

 however, there is one event worthy of note. on friday morning, my friend becky finally made it over for some sewing time! becky moved in our neighborhood about a year ago and ever since at least january we have been trying to get together on my regular friday morning quilt time. the list of reasons that have prevented us is exhaustive and almost hilarious: birthday breakfasts, husbands off of work last minute, vacations, illnesses, funerals, appointments, simply forgetting. one Friday several weeks ago, i was down in bed with a respiratory ailment so becky didn't come over but we did spend the morning texting all about quilting. that was fun, especially when i put the idea into her head that maybe she could get a machine upgrade for mother's day or something. but this week, at last, we got to spend a few hours sewing in person and chatting about our families.

becky, bless her, has five boys, three of them not school age, who came along for the morning. they mostly ate graham crackers and played around the house or yard. she's an incredibly patient and loving mother. any time she had to take a break to tend to one of them, it didn't phase her in the least. she just dealt with the issues and then got back to sewing. right now she's working on a simple charm square quilt, charms grouped into four patches and sashed. despite how often she stopped to help the boys or let one on her lap (they all took a turn), she got quite a bit done!

here's hoping this becomes a regular occurrence for us because i sure enjoyed it. and now that my dear friend jill is moving out of state, i need someone else who can talk fabric and quilts with me.

 when i had finished quilting the section i originally marked out with a grid, i thought i had finished at least a third, maybe even half the quilting. but when i sat down to mark more of it and counted the squares finished, i found i'd only completed 28 out of 120 squares. that was disappointing!


this is taking such a long time. good thing i enjoy it! however, it's kept me from doing anything else in between quilting sessions because i don't want to change out the foot to work on something else. then again, that's good incentive to keep at the quilting and not give up. although i may be running out of my aurofil thread soon. i hope this is the one i bought at a local store so i can replace it easily.

i'm really hoping this will be a finish by the end of this week because two weeks quilting on one quilt is enough. as i've been endlessly making petals, i've thought about the "leftover pennies" quilt i wanted to make with this pattern next time around. i think that one will be quilted using larger petals! the prospect of cutting my quilting time down to a quarter of what i'm doing now is very appealing.

linking up with gemma and the pretty bobbins i quilt thursday party.

12 comments:

  1. It's going to be so worth it and already looks amazing! I always want to hug you when I read your posts, you're so honest and your love of quilting really does shine through! Glad you had fun with your friend and I like the top you're wearing in that pic!

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  2. Hooray for you getting some quilty friend sewing time! Glad it worked out, and the quilting is already looking fantastic!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  3. As a hand quilter I always imagine the machine to be faster, but it still takes time. Your quilting looks amazing. The time you are taking is well worth it.

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  4. Your petals are gorgeous! And it will be so worth it in the end! You can do it!!

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  5. So fun to have a quilting buddy nearby! I need to find me one of those. I am loving your dogwoods more and more every time I see them. Hope you are able to finish quilting it this week. That would be great!

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  6. your dogwood quilting is looking so beautiful Hydee - it really is going to be so worth it. A gorgeous quilt just for you :-) So glad you have found a new local quilting friend - I'm sure you'll be a great encouragement to each other xx

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  7. Your quilting looks amazing. I've cheated and sent mine out to be long armed but I figure there's no point in working all the hours under the sun if it means you can't cheat a little here and there :-)

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  8. It's is beautiful! Don't be discouraged by the time taken, I promise it will be worth it. You can already see the beautiful texture coming through.
    And I am totally with you on the refusal to change the feet, the tension, the thread... Must power through and finish so you can work on something else! Lol.
    E xx

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  9. The quilting is looking beautiful! I don't have any sewing friends to meet with in real life, so I envy you the chance to do that.

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  10. Quilting with a friend is the best! Your petals look beautiful and I know it will be worth the time you put into them.

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  11. Your quilt looks beautiful and the quilting looks very neat! Good job!

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  12. Your quilt is beautiful! I, too, plan to make a penny patch and love the dogwood quilting that you used (which I have never done, but would like to try!!!) Can I ask, do you mark out the dogwood pattern before going to the machine? Thanks!
    Amy

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