Art Group Day

Today my art group met. We have been floundering for a bit, just dabbling in various techniques but without a real plan. Today we decided that we are going to start the exercises in Jean Wells' book Intuitive Color and Design in Art Quilting. I have recently purchased some solids with the idea that I would try some free piecing ala Gwen Marston or Jean Wells, so this plan suits me perfectly.

Needing to actually sew something, today I started this.

Why? Just because. I'm using some of the wool I was gifted 3 years ago and this variegated pink to red thread I bought at my LQS. I just cut a piece of wool about 8 1/2" by 9", sprayed my batting with Sullivan's Spray Baste and started stitching. Here is a photo without the thread on top.

I'm not sure I like the circle applique so I tried another fabric.

I like this one a bit better, but maybe I don't want an applique at all. I'm just playing so we'll see how it goes. I have already sewn the first circle down and don't feel like taking it off yet. There is still plenty of time for that.

Mom's Tree Skirt Finished

I finished quilting my mom's tree skirt today. Here is photo of the completed quilt.

In this photo it doesn't look much different than it did on Saturday when I posted on it. But today I quilted the border. I did holly leaves with berries in the center in the border and some kind of flower with berries or lollipops (the same shapes that are in the background of the center portion) coming out of the flower. Here are some detail shots.

I used variegated thread for the border so it is hard to see the holly shapes in the photo. I took several pictures and this is the best one.

I hope my mom likes it. I'll put it in the mail to her later this week.

Quilting Mom's Tree Skirt

I've been working on the quilting for my mom's tree skirt this past week. I just need to finish up the border but haven't decided what I want to do in the border yet. For the star, I thought of it like a flower and quilted what I would call "echo petals" in each section.

On the background of the star I used a pattern from Leah Day's blog 365 days of free motion quilting filler designs. I think she called this one lollipop chains.

If you haven't checked out Leah's blog you need to do so! I may pick another of her designs for the border.

Basting Spray Review

Earlier this week I basted a charity quilt with Sullivan's Basting Spray. Despite the chunks of glue that dropped out of the very old (I bought it at least 10 years ago) and almost empty can, the results were great. My LQS recommended removing and washing out the sprayer part on the old can to see if that corrected my problem with the chunks dropping out. I haven't tried that yet. I decided that I should invest in a new can since my old one is almost empty anyway and purchased one on Wednesday, but I haven't had a chance do any more basting yet. However, I have three more charity tops ready to be basted and I will use the spray for them all. Here is a photo of the finished quilt I basted with the spray.

And here is a photo showing the back so you can see the quilting a bit better. I quilted in the ditch around the blocks and then did alternating serpentine quilting over the blocks. It's fast, simple and different than just stippling.

Black binding would have been a better choice, but I like to use my binding scraps for charity quilts and I had enough yellow, so yellow it is.

I think this spray is a great option for basting things quickly. I believe that the problems I had before with it were because I was a new quilter and had not yet learned to properly baste a quilt with pins or thread. You can't just spray the batting and slap down the backing, flip it over, spray the batting and slap down the top. You need to understand proper basting techniques and how to employ them with a new basting method. It is much faster than pin or thread basting, but can't be done properly in two minutes. I think it took me about 10 or 15 minutes for this small baby quilt to get everything laid out, sprayed and smoothed properly. I may get faster with practice.

One last comment about the basting spray: It is very sticky. Be careful where you spray this stuff. The over-spray can make unintended things sticky. If you get some on your hands, soap and water will not get it all off. It will wear off after a day or so and can be picked off like dried glue, but Goo Gone or D-Solve-It worked great for me at getting it off my fingers.

My Basting Tables

I've had a couple of comments on my basting tables so I thought I would take photos of them and tell you a bit about them. They are basically two hollow core doors with legs that fold up for storage. My husband made them for me for Christmas one year. I haven't measured, I told him to get the biggest ones they had, but I think the doors are 36" by 72". This gives me a 6' by 6' basting surface! It's fabulous! So here is top shot of both tables set up. (I didn't get the tree skirt quilted today but did get the charity quilt quilted. It even has a label and the binding is ready to be hand sewn to the back!)

Here is a shot of the legs. They are very simple, but do the job.

Here is a close-up of the leg folding mechanism. I think he got these at a wood working supply place. Probably Wood Workers Supply.

There are two of these little locks that hold the tables together when I am using them both. One table is about 1/8" shorter than the other. This was not by design but it works out well because I can feel the center easily when I'm layering and trying to line up the back with the front along the center.

My husband did a really great job with these! I love them.

Basting

I've been basting some things together today in preparation for quilting them. This top was made by my mom. It is going to be a tree skirt for underneath a Christmas tree. I think she plans to give it as a wedding gift. It's not a great photo, but the best I can do today. I'll take a better one after it is quilted.

Then I decided I'd baste another top as long as I have my basting tables out. This top was also made by my mom. She gave it to me to quilt and then turn in to my guild as a charity quilt. I basted it using spray baste.

I've used this spray baste before unsuccessfully. I thought that I would give it another try on the charity quilt now that I have more experience quilting and using this spray on smaller projects. I'll let you know how it turns out. My confidence is already a little shaken and I haven't even gotten it down to the sewing machine yet. The spray started dropping chunks of glue onto the batting as I was spraying the back. I am hoping that this means the can is getting empty? I've had it a pretty long time, but we'll see ...

Trip to Pueblo

I had a great time in Pueblo. I spent a couple of hours wondering around the Quilt and Stitch Expo looking at all the vendor booths and purchasing goodies. Then I went to Hobby Lobby, Target and Office Max.

What did I buy? For starters, this bundle of Kona Solids Fat 1/8's.

Lots of Fat Quarters

Some socks for Parker. His school does "Crazy Sock Day" at least once per year.

Some goodies for embellishing. I plan to carve the erasers to make stamps. I've already ordered the carving tools.

And some new flip flops for myself for this summer. Yes, the flowery ones are Liberty of London.

Wow! I bought a lot of stuff! Good thing I don't go to Pueblo very often.