Monday, February 24, 2020

Moving Things Along

Directions From a Local is a true blue finish! The hand quilting went very quickly and then it was just a matter of getting the binding properly attached. A quick look through the stash totes, and no worries, plenty of fabric to choose from for binding possibilities. 
Directions From a Local is finished!
Not surprisingly, I ended up sewing scrappy pieces of odd blue fabric together for the binding as that color seemed to have the very best effect. Some of the fabrics had been in the totes for a very long time and I had begun to question why they were ever acquired. But that's exactly why we buy the odd/interesting/unusual fabrics as our instincts nudge us to. So they are there waiting for us when the perfect opportunity crops up!
Love the feel of this quilt
Most of the fabrics used in this quilt are not solids, but a very subtle print or tone on tone. One fabric in particular, the brown and white gingham, is not 100% cotton and seemed to want to warple and wave at the slightest provocation. Still, I absolutely love the vintage look of it mixed in with the quilt.
So happy with the fix-it corners in the middle...
The choppy, cut up corners of the log cabin are a result of sewing the first part of the quilt together without ever measuring strip lengths. Just sewing them on and cutting the excess off at the corners. Eventually there came a time when the quilt began to misbehave entirely too much and it just had to be addressed. I am so in love with how that turned out, there is absolutely nothing to regret!
Hard to see, but some of these fabrics are very sweet...
This quilt was started as an attempt to recreate or rather, interepret, one of the lovely quilts in 'Unconventional and Unexpected' by Roderick Kiracofe. You are probably so very tired of hearing me talk about this book, but it is one of the best buys that I have ever made, quilting-wise. Still finding lots and lots of inspiration within the covers of this book, sometimes just enough to pull me out of a slight mojo slump.
Probably could have added more stitching, but I wanted
to keep it loose and drapey....
I am still kind of in awe that these colors came out of my quilting room, much less, that they all came together in such a successful manner. Playing with color is one of my very favorite things about quilting. Building a different 'to us' color palette often feels easier when trying to base it off an already finished quilt and using it as the ultimate guide.
Whimsical touch to add the 'white line' piecing
Creating a 'mood' in quilting just feels ridiculously fun too. 'Cuz of course, that's exactly what we're doing. Oh sure, it can be a bit anxiety inducing during the attempt {so many decisions}, but after? If it turns out well? High fives all around!
So happy with the Turn Right arrow effect
The next quilt in the hoop will be Vintage Coxcombs. It's been a finished quilt top for a couple years now and one that lately I've been itching to get into the hoop.
Vintage Coxcombs getting sandwiched and pinned
I actually took the time to pin it between all the rows for machine, stitch-in-the-ditch sewing. Ughh! Takes so very long and it was while I was feeling pretty rotten too. Totally underestimated how much energy I had and how much time it always takes. My general optimism about how easy it would be to get it all ready was probably rooted in the idea that it is completely unacceptable to have an empty hoop. My goodness, however would I survive without a hand quilting project warmed up and ready to go?
Still happy with the pieced backgrounds
The unfortunate saga continues as I discovered when eventually getting back into the sewing room to actually sew. Somehow I totally forgot to engage the dual feed with my special Stitch-in-the-Ditch foot, which basically eliminated the entire walking foot effect as hello? There was no 'walking foot' apparatus engaged. Oh yes. You guessed it. I ended up having to rip out some of my machine stitching and start over. Fun stuff.
Going to keep the hand quilting very simple on this one...
Thankfully I didn't have to rip everything out. Apparently the benefit to quilting with low ebb energy is that I was moving the quilt slower through the machine than normal. Wonder of wonders, that helped everything behave better than it should have/could have. While the stitching didn't end up looking fabulous by any means, the quilt is in the hoop now and there's no looking back. I refuse to be a slave to perfection and choose instead to just pick my battles. Stitching lines meandering a bit over the top of seams? Fine and Dandy. Wavy outside sashing? Time to pull out the seam ripper!

My husband and I are both feeling loads better these days and even got to see our grandkids over the weekend. He will be taking a bit longer to recover to absolute full health, but if spending time with the granddaughters doesn't help accelerate the feel-good endorphins, I don't know what could! Still working on some hand applique when time allows and feeling very optimistic that this is the week we mostly return to a 'normal' routine....

19 comments:

  1. My favorite part of this quilt is those little white pieced lane lines. What a fun quilt - a winner!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing close up photos of Directions, Audrey. Wonderful the way those colours went together. I like the looser quilting cozy look. Yes, I know that feeling of mild panic if there isn't something to hand stitch lined up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. love both of them and the name of the first! I kind of give directions like that - I never no the names of the streets even after living in one place for 40 years LOL - it is still turn by the yellow house - the house with the big tree in the yard - or maybe by the pink house that burnt down :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. What I love about your 'Vintage Coxcombs' is the sudden addition of the teal & assorted blacks border, it sets everything off beautifully. Something to be said for not stopping once the super main blocks are made!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really like your directions quilt, such a fun idea. x

    ReplyDelete
  6. A beautiful finish and your 'fix-it' corners have ended up looking clever and deliberate. I also really like how what looks at first glance like quite a simple design still has so many little details that keep me interested (like those little white dashes).

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your Vintage Coxcombs is just such a lovely top and I'm glad it's in your hoop, after a rocky time getting there;). I love the subtle variety in the block backgrounds.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the finished quilt - love, love, love. Simple can be so wonderful. Good luck with the one in the hoop.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What? That's not the way you're supposed to sew the strrips on??
    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. So glad to hear that you & hubby are finally seeing the light at the end of the sicko tunnel! I checked my local library and discovered that there are five different books by Roderick Ciracofe including the one you mentioned! Will have to look into that. As always, your quilts are gorgeous. My brother would love that quilt -- once when he was out-of-town he was given these directions: Turn at the corner where the old high school used to be. We laugh all the time about that one! Have a g

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have a good day with the applique in your lap!

      Delete
  11. I love everything about this quilt. The whole idea and execution is just charming and tells a story about real life. I hope you get a chance to display it. And feel back to normal soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I don't think my previous comment went through so here's another.
    Your medallion is a masterpiece of simplicity with delightful personal details that show it's true sophistication. The map, the amusing directions, the road with lane marks, the corners. Amazing. The simple tone on tone fabrics add so much to its understated beauty. Your family will laugh about this and enjoy it for years to come.
    Also, I admire your use of two fabrics to create the Coxcomb backgrounds.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love that you wrote "Nothing to regret"! Yes! I love it when quilts come together that way,

    ReplyDelete
  14. Directions from a local just makes me smile. My grandparents lived in a rural area near a small town on the land my great grandparents homesteaded. They always gave directions like that...turn right at Crippens Corner, take the dirt road down to the old Brennan place and turn left, go about two miles... A simple but very delightful quilt.

    And I LOVE those Coxcombs. Those are elegant and very delightful.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Welcome back to "normal". Love your directions quilt, it really says it/explains itself well!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great news that you're both feeling much better now! The directions quilt is a winner, I love this one, very clever! Vintage Coxcombs is another winner, using more than one background fabric such a creative idea - I'm looking forward to seeing the hand quilting coming along on this one.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a fun quilt “directions” is! So annoying to find you’ve left the duel feed off but glad it didn’t mean pulling it all out. Happy hand quilting now. Good to hear you’re both on the mend. Take it easy for full recuperation!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Quilts are really great. I am not sure how go add texts on quilts though. My favorite is the square quilt with striped pattern. From where did you get the inspiration. It is a simple pattern and you have used several fabric. Wishing speedy recovery to you and hubby.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting! I love getting comments and always try to respond via email. Please leave an email in the comment to ensure a return reply! {Many of you are popping up as Anonymous for some reason, so I have no idea who it is.} Regardless, I appreciate all the comments and read every single one.