Joint Venture with Karen Miller: Mystery Quilt Along – Part 5

Jan 7: Announcement post
Jan 21:  Planning, basting, batting, etc
Jan 28:  Stabilization quilting or just to catch up
***Feb 4, Feb 11: Inside center panel
Feb 25: Top and Bottom Rectangles
March 4: Top and Bottom Squares
March 11: Left and Right Side panels
Mach 18: Narrow Sashing
March 25: Outside (wider) Border
April 1: Binding & Hanging

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Hello Friends, here we are again on our Quilt-Along Monday!  There’s not a new installment because Karen and I know the hustles and bustles of life all too well, and sometimes we just can’t get to quilting like we would like.  The panel center is a relatively large area, so, we though we would give folks a couple of weeks to get that done before we move on to the subsequent sections.  If you missed my post 2 weeks ago on quilting the panel center, here is the link again!

I am starting to see pictures of your work, and have interacted with some of you on your project.  I am so excited to see how you have chosen to customize this panel quilt with quilting.

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Now, some of you might still be gathering your supplies.  That’s okay — jump in when you are able to. Click HERE where Karen keeps a list of shops where you can purchase the supplies.

I have heard positive responses from many regarding my book.  THANK YOU!

You may order my book from:

Connecting Threads

Fox Chapel Publishing

Amazon

or email me for signed copies!

I will be using Aurifli 50 wt threads from my Subtle Strings collection.  You may read more about the collection here, and here.  You may order your collection here for $99.99 (regularly selling for $140)!  The collection is IN STOCK again as of this morning!!!

Meanwhile, you may also order the collection HERE and HERE.

My Subtle Strings colors are specially selected to achieve a subtle contrast effect in the quilting.  That is to say, we get to quilt with pretty colors on our quilts, but the colors aren’t really visible from afar and are not competing with the overall look of the quilt, until one looks at the quilting close up.  These colors are also perfect for piecing, machine or hand applique — definitely my go-to!  Why limit yourself to using only beige and light brown, or white?!

So far, here are the Subtle Strings colors I used for the different sections!  It’s a great time to experiment with subtle colors in quilting!  I hope you like subtle contrast quilting as much as I have!  Where the spool is indicates the area quilted with the color.

Since we are on a downtime installment-wise, I thought I would chat with you briefly on quilting results and personality!  One observation that has been consistent from all the free-motion domestic machine quilting classes I have taught is that different quilters will quilt differently the one motif that is being presented.  For example, we would be working on pebbles (pages 50-51), and students will end up with different shapes or sizes for their pebbles.

Last week I shared how our quilting looks is like how our signature looks!  And that solves the mystery why we often end up with different looks when we quilt one motif.  And you know what, THAT is perfectly fine!  Your quilting reflects and celebrates you!!!

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This week, I want to share a rule I have for my students who take classes with me.  So often, students are alarmed because the quilting they see right at the moment of them quilting isn’t looking so nice!

I get it!  I am the same way!!  When I am quilting, I see the not so perfectly formed curves, or the slight jerk from moving my quilt sandwich too fast — it’s like seeing all the imperfections in real time.  However, I have learned if I just focus on quilting the piece, and not worry so much about the results and come back to look at my quilting later (36-48 hours!), I would have forgotten about all those real time imperfections and would decide that my quilting looks pretty good after all.

SO — always wait 36-48 hours before you decide how your quilting turns out!  

Here is a real life example…. as I quilted this part of the cloud, I thought I made a tactical mistake in placing the spiral here.  Truth is I went a little further than I would like quilting that front spiral.  I call it my wayward spiral.

I thought of ripping out the stitches.  I then reminded myself I should just wait and see…

I waited and looked at it again, and decided it doesn’t look bad after all as a whole.  So, I was 94.7% satisfied with that wayward spiral, and I am okay with it because I didn’t have to take out stitches!

Remember, the more you quilt, the better you will be at it!  I hope you are having the time of your life working on this piece.  I know I have!  See you again next Monday, but not before you check out Karen’s post for today!  Click HERE to go to Karen’s blog.