I had previously told you that I learn something with every
quilt I make and here is what I learned (actually relearned!) with this one…..don’t skip the stitch
in the ditch! I wrote about the important of stitch
in the ditch last month. I had this quilt pinned and decided to jump right
into the circular quilting. As I went along I removed pins and smoothed out the
quilt and continued to quilt. I didn’t think to check the back until I was more
than half way done. It was a dog’s breakfast! While the top was flat and smooth
the back was riddled with creases and folds. So I spent a week ripping out all
of the quilting! Then I had to press everything and pin-baste it for the second
time. This time I stitched in the ditch and it turned out perfectly!
I quilted the circles by drawing an off centre circle in the
white area. I quilted that circle and from there I used my walking foot to
machine quilt the remaining circles with no marking required…I just used the
width of my walking foot as the guide. It was a fast easy way to quilt and
perfect design for a young fellow!
If you read my post about my Mom’s quilt “Afrika”
you will know the story about why the killer bees came to be and why they sometimes
appear in her quilts (although less often these days)! Well I had need for a
killer bee of my own in Alex’s quilt. As I was stitching down the binding I noticed
that there was a small nick just near the binding. I don’t know if I did it or
if it was a flaw in the fabric. I darned it with matching thread but decided it
wasn’t a very nice finish so what to do? Applique and embroider a little
grasshopper to cover the flaw! Not sure if I’ll tell him about it or just let
it be a surprise.
I hope Alex will like his quilt. It is perfect for a boy and I think it is a quilt that will grow with him over the years!
My next job is to finish the quilt for his sister, Christina’s.
There’s lots of orange in that one so I’ve got a name in mind but I’ll hold off
sharing until I finish the quilt!
Until I post again, happy sewing!
