Super Sized Bobbins

Would you look at the size of those Bobbins.....I

 believe they hold about 80% more thread than a regular bobbin, of course I can't find exactly where it says that, but trust me it's wonderful.

 I've been playing with my New Bernina 710.....truly a dream machine!!!!!

 Meanwhile, I'm making pretty good head way on my "Picking Up the Pieces" Quilt.

 Nine blocks quilted......

Three to go.....

I just threw these up on the design wall randomly.....lets see where they take me.

I did rather slip that new machine part in, didn't I. Did I really neeeed a new machine....well, not really.

I saw this machine at a Quilt Show in Victoria, in May and had been obsessing dreaming about it ever since. I took a little of my, still to come, inheritance money and there you have it. My Mom had a Bernina when I was growing up....I can't help but think of her when I'm sewing with it.  

So, thanks, Mom.

Putting the Pieces Back Together

It's one thing to pick up the pieces ......but then what????? How to fit them back together, that's the million dollar question. 

 Joining, more slicing and then.....it's perfect...NOT!!!   I so wish that were the case. Instead, RIPPING OUT and MORE RIPPING OUT!  But, when one way doesn't work, it inevitably leads to another solution, and if that doesn't work something else has a way of presenting itself.

I'm insetting pieces that are already quilted....that is a dilemma all of it's own.

Block One

The striped piece in the lower right-hand corner was already quilted. In the first block the back of the block is just one plain piece of fabric.

Block Two

Again the striped triangle was already quilted, but this time I figured out how to expose the quilted back, of the previously quilted triangle as well......

Block Two (back)

Block Three

Block Three (back)

Block Four

I used a different method for exposing the previously quilted triangle here....this one works, but is a little more convoluted. 

Block Four (back)

Block Five

I just have a plain back here.....this was before I figured out how to expose the back, of the previously inset quilted piece.

Block Six.... still in process

Again the back is plain.

The slicing and ripping out, multiple times, can be a painful experience.....but the resulting solutions are often gold. 

That's something I have to keep reminding myself of, throughout the process.

One Step Forward.....Two Steps Back

Sometimes....quite often actually, it's one step forward then two steps (or maybe even several) steps back, when working improv. Well, that was the way of it, for me today. It all started on Saturday.....

 I was in a mood....rotary cutters and moods just might be a lethal combination!!!! You guessed it, I started slicing!!! 

And slicing some more....with gusto, I might add!!

 And then it was over.....my project was in pieces!!! Later that day I read a beautiful post by Diane of O'Quilts and thought yes, there is anger in grief. 

In a much calmer state, two days later.....I naively thought, I will just pick up these beautiful pieces and put them in a nice calm background and that will be the end of it. The pieces will be picked up and put back together, hopefully creating something beautiful.

I'm testing out or trying to develop some ways to set quilted pieces into backgrounds.....more on that later.

Here's me calmly playing....

 Things are working out rather well....

Along the way, I modified the method slightly, making things simpler and faster.....and then, I hated it. Oh, Oh, me and my rotary cutter.....well, I imagine you know the rest. 

Yup, everything in pieces on the ground. 

Then it came to me....when something is cut or broken in pieces, whether it be your quilt or something else, it's just not a matter of putting it back on a calm background....things might just be a little more complex than that....and not all that calm.

Hmm....with that thought in mind, I'll be trying something else. 

P.S. All was not lost, my QAYG method development is coming along nicely. 

Where Do Your Quilts Come From?

Do you ever ask yourself that question? Where do my quilts come from??

 For me, they come from many places. Sometimes I create a quilt out of necessity....a baby quilt for example. I need a gift and I make one. Other times a piece of fabric sets my creative juices in motion. But lately, some of my quilts have been coming from a deeper place.....from an emotional place if you will.

All these pieces are leftover from another project I started a few years ago. 

As you can see, that particular project is still a Work In Progress....but no matter, I try to keep my studio a guilt free zone. 

I'm also working on a few other Quilt As You Go techniques......sometimes just playing with different techniques brings some of my quilts into being.

It's rare for me to have a name for a quilt so early on but this quilt is called....PICKING UP THE PIECES.

Not all that original, but oh so relevant......