Muzzy Me!

My frame ate my yardstick!

Oops!
FreshofftheFrame.com

I often use it to support one set of straps for my side clamps.
Well, this is what happens when you forget to remove it before rolling the quilt!

The yardstick is steel, so you can imagine the force this took.
It was a good reminder to quilt only when rested and alert.

Fortunately, no quilts were harmed due to my muzzy brain!
I had spent a bleary weekend on the couch with a head cold . . . probably should have stayed there a little longer. ;)

Fresh off the Frame
Despite my lack of energy this week, I've managed to finish three client quilts (start a quilting project with my grandchildren, help my daughter with some painting, and tick a few "house building" tasks off my list . . . but I digress.)

I'm not exactly sure which way is "up" with this beautiful quilt.
I've chosen this orientation for the photo, but it could easily go the other way.

Client quilt
FreshofftheFrame.com

The back shows the texture beautifully.

"Popcorn" pantograph
FreshofftheFrame.com

Next up were two (almost) identical quilts, done with two different pantographs.

"Quilt One" features the "Halcyon" design . . .

First of two similar client quilts
FreshofftheFrame.com

"Halcyon" pantograph
FreshofftheFrame.com

. . . while "Quilt Two" features "Pieces of My Heart".

Second of two similar client quilts
FreshofftheFrame.com

"Pieces of My Heart" pantograph
FreshofftheFrame.com

Cool, huh?
Both designs work equally well.
It just goes to show - there is no "wrong" choice. If you like something, go for it!

House Update

FreshofftheFrame.com

I think half the house is rafters.
Looking at the plan, it never really occurred to me how high the roof would be. Nor how complicated.
I'm so glad these guys know what they're doing!

FreshofftheFrame.com

Now, If I only knew how to straighten my yardstick . . . ha!


Try, Learn, & Grow!
Carole

Fanciful Flowers

Fresh off the Frame!
After ditching the vertical rows, stitching down the applique, and then quilting in some whimsical details, I used echo quilting to fill the remaining spaces in the body of this client quilt.

Finished!
FreshofftheFrame.com

Here is what it looked like before quilting.

"Before"
FreshofftheFrame.com

And, this is one of my favourite views - only the kitty faces left to stitch.

Almost done!
FreshofftheFrame.com

The quilting density was determined, in part, by the amount of stitching needed to secure the grass along two edges of the quilt. Consistency across the quilt helps things lay nicely.

Securing the applique was an important step.
FreshofftheFrame.com

A slightly denser, "fabric eating" filler controls the fabric immediately adjacent to the grass where things wanted to ripple.

Sweet kitty smiles!
FreshofftheFrame.com

The vertical sashing was kept simple to allow some breathing space in the design. I'd originally intended to fill it with cute, little insects, but the quilt called for something geometric instead.

Fanciful flowers
FreshofftheFrame.com

The cozy, flannel backing has cornered the market on cute bugs, anyway!

FreshofftheFrame.com

I hope this quilt will be loved - I'm still nervous with every, single reveal! (I get how emotionally invested people are in their projects, and never, ever want to disappoint, ya know?)

House Update
The guys are framing our bonus room down on the main floor, and tomorrow it will be hoisted into place above the garage.

Framing the bonus room
FreshofftheFrame.com

Okay, so we are not strictly sticking to the "everything on one level" plan. Just mostly, with the odd exception. Ha!

Since my studio eliminated two bedrooms on the main floor, this space will become a bunkhouse for our grandchildren -  and they can run up and down the stairs!

Linking Up With
Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation
Finish it up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts



Try, Learn, & Grow!
Carole

Forward Motion

On the Frame
Ditching - check. Applique stitched down - check. Whimsy added - check-ity, check, check!

Sweet, appliqued flowers are dressed up with stitchery.
FreshofftheFrame.com

Fanciful butterfly
FreshofftheFrame.com

Each flower is different, so the quilting is varied, as well. Motifs have been repeated here and there across the quilt to create cohesion, though - I like to repeat something at least three times to make it look like it belongs. Echo quilting will finish these sections, and then it will be time to decide the next step.

Crazy petals branch off the stems.
FreshofftheFrame.com

This quilt should have been finished by now, but every time I get on a roll, I'm interrupted. The interruptions throw off my groove, and it's hard to get my head back in the game, ya know?
Ah, well. Some weekend quilting will keep things moving forward. :-)

House Update
My main interruption is very exciting!
(See, it's not a bad interruption - on the contrary! It just takes time and energy away from quilting, is all.)

Decision eleventy-billion-and-one.
FreshofftheFrame.com

There are at least eleventy-billion (I'm sure that's a real number!) house building decisions to be made every day. Some are urgent. Some are for later so materials will arrive on time. Some ALL are expensive, and cannot be changed later if we're unhappy. Once an order is placed, that's it. So. This explains my distraction from quilting. Apparently my brain can only handle so much spatial visualization in a day!

We have walls!
The framers worked their buns off getting ready, so the exterior walls went up like magic this afternoon!
(My husband texted photos so I could see the process without being there - I was quilting!)

Oh, ya!!! Wall going up.
FreshofftheFrame.com

Forward motion is a beautiful thing - especially when it happens in giant leaps!

Try, Learn, & Grow!
Carole

Hiccup! (And the fix)

Piecing.

See the fern?
It has been waiting to become.

Like a dozen other fabrics I've painted, dyed, or printed.
But this one has a real chance!

FreshofftheFrame.com

Now it's waiting for a weekend when my frame is free (and so am I). Not this weekend - I've loaded a client's quilt, ready for Monday - but soon!

My own work in progress.
FreshofftheFrame.com

Hiccup
Ever have the kind of hiccup that gets in the way of progress?
Yep. Me too.

The first two rows of quilting on this beauty looked great, so I relaxed and quilted the next two rows.

Client quilt - bayside panto.
FreshofftheFrame.com

Not good.
When I went to advance the quilt, I noticed a couple of spots in the third row where the tension was off.
Exasperating, but fixable.

When I checked the fourth row, the tension was crap in more places than not.
WTF??? (Feel free to insert fudge if you like, but that was not my descriptive word of choice!)
It was time to rip instead of fix.

It takes ten times longer to rip than to stitch.

Grrr.


This exact scenario has happened once before, and now I think I've nailed down the culprit.
Black thread.
Tightening the tension (both top and bobbin) fixed the issue, then and now.

I've read that black thread can be thinner than other colours of the same kind and weight, thanks to the extra processing needed to make it so dark.

I can't explain why it works for the first little while (when I watch my tension like a hawk), and then decides to slip (as soon as I take my eyes off it), but that seems to be a pattern . . . if twice can be considered a pattern.
It's a mystery.

Thank goodness for flowers!

Zephyr lilies make me smile. :-)
FreshofftheFrame.com

And for meeting deadlines despite a little hiccup. *whew*

Client quilt - modern twist panto.
FreshofftheFrame.com

No deadline for this t-shirt quilt (below), but it feels great to be making progress in the studio again!

Client quilt - ripples panto.
FreshofftheFrame.com

House Update
Rain.
Lots of rain.
The basement walls were poured one day when there was a break in the weather.

Puddles and beams.
FreshofftheFrame.com

Weeping tile and damp proofing are almost finished - it's slow work because of the rain.

Slumped dirt in the back corner of the hole where there should be a nice, crisp cliff. :-(
FreshofftheFrame.com

Wet dirt has slumped into the hole around the basement's exterior and has to be dug out by hand so things can proceed - makes me feel better about ripping stitches, I tell ya.

One pump has already burned out, and another one had to be brought in.
Maybe we should build an ark instead.



Oh! Today, floor beams appeared!
Our contractor is multitasking to keep from falling too far behind.

Guess what's in the forecast for tomorrow.
Notice it is not a question.
Blah.

Time to change the subject.

Here's what's on the frame for Monday - cheerful!

Client quilt - ditching (and extra basting) in progress.
FreshofftheFrame.com

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Try, Learn, & Grow!
Carole

P.S. If you'd like a quilt done in time for Christmas, please reserve your spot now. My calendar is starting to fill, and spots are limited!