Loose Ends

I seem to have spent my week tying up loose ends, finishing things off or getting organised for the next project. I am teaching at a Quilt Retreat with Ani and Kay this week in the Lake District so I also wanted to pack plenty of things to show and do there. I completed the quilting on the Book version of “5 Bar Gate” so I should get its rings painted while I am away and finish it off with machine embroidery using the big Bernina when I get back.

I attached the binding onto the Vintage 50’s quilt and the Super Bright Starry one then swithered about whether to add a border to the remake of “Silent Movie Star”. In the end, I decided just to leave it since I did not really like it as much as the original version. I soon discovered how sloppily I had pieced it when I attempted to custom quilt it with feather motifs using the Quilt Path computer! Let’s just say that I learned several things at once. I would definitely have made a a far better job of it freehand. I wanted to see what formal feathers would look like on a quasi-lonestar quilt but the spaces were too large to fill with the basic designs. I discovered how to edit, copy and move blocks so it was not a waste of time at all and as long as I stand well back from “B-Movie Star”, it looks all right. It is another quilt that I hope to sell. 

Another decision was that I would not continue making long fence blocks as a border for the Happy House blocks as it was already quite large. This is another quilt which I will “allow” QP to do with an all-over pattern. I made an uncharacteristic decision to square up the blocks to a uniform size and was aghast when I realised that some were at least ¼” -½” inch bigger all round than others. 

Another job that had been waiting to be done forever was to make a new ironing board cover since the old once was brown with burnt starch and bits of sponge were poking through. It did not even take me very long to cut out a piece of wadding and make a channel for string in a very roughly shaped piece of linen curtain fabric. The Tuesday Night Quilters were most impressed by the improvement because I have probably been muttering about making a new cover for at least 3 years.

While I was rooting through the basket I came across an antique quilt that is really tatty but I need to find wide batiste with which to cover the ancient appliqué. There is also a lovely Indian bedspread that needs a simple all-over design but first I will actually need to order some new rolls of wadding! 

In amongst my time in the workshop, I met with the Estate Factor regarding a housing development behind Durris School, taught Primary 1 for a day, drove deep into the Highlands to drop off Freya’s D of E crowd and tried to watch out for the Northern Lights through a thick blanket of fog. Obviously not forgetting, also mopping up two washing-machine related floods in the workshop loo where the decrepit plumbing rain caused an overflow and attempting to prevent Thistle the Kitten from teasing Bluecat, the most disgruntled Older Cat. Everyone will just have to sort themselves out this week while I am away busily demonstrating longarming and finishing off one or two quilts;)