Friday, October 31, 2014

Bias Stripes: Finally Another Quilt Finish!

It's been a long time since I've had a quilt finish to report.  Most of my sewing time has been directed at small items for son #1's new farmer's market booth (more about that in another post).  I have finished several tops but thought I'd wait until I had them quilted to write about them, never thinking that it would take this long!

My local guild started a PhD program this year.  It's like the old UFO (Un Finished Objects) with a new title - Projects Half Done.  I decided to join.  For the "cost" of two fat quarters you list 6 projects that you want to finish this year (September to August).  Every other meeting a number is drawn and you have two months to finish that numbered project.  The fine for not finishing is another fat quarter.  At the end of the year the amassed fat quarters are awarded by drawing to one of the participants in the program.  My list consists of three tops that need to be quilted and three quilts never yet started!  They are the remaining three projects of a Craftsy class by Elizabeth Hartman that I started in 2012.  Of course, the first number chosen was one of the quilts not yet started.  But, it was a design that I had looked at and decided would work with my scraps and make a good donation quilt.

So here we have Bias Stripes, an Elizabeth Hartman modern quilt design:

The stripes are foundation pieced on large format copy paper.

My critique:
  • This is not the first time that I've struggled with straight quilting on the sashing. I used a walking foot but still the fabric wants to migrate downward.  I don't think I will try this again unless I decide to change something significant in my machine set up.
  • The whole piece is a bit off kilter in shape.  Again, I'm not sure why.
  • I like the loopy free motion design in the striped boxes. 
  • I like the fleece backing (sorry, no picture).  The backing is actually a re-purposed snuggly from a year when many were exchanged as Christmas gifts but none were every used.  They really have a lot of yardage in them.
  • I used a blue thread for the quilting.  I hardly ever use contrasting thread but I thought it would help the white sashing.  And I think it did.  It makes the quilting more visible - for better or worse!
So, overall I'm partially pleased with this one. Hopefully, it will serve to keep it's owner warm through the winter this year.  It will go to the donations for the service bee I'm a member of.  We are donating quilts to a local organization that provides services to the elderly.  We meet once a month and sew and chat and share lunch.  It's a great format to get to know each other better.

Next during service bee I'm going to get working on the green scrap bin!
 

1 comment:

  1. Nina, I wonder if the backing had anything to do with the straight quilting on the sashing. Or maybe it's because you're stitching on the bias. I always have trouble stitching on the bias because the fabric stretches. (Not that I've ever done it on a quilt -- just on bindings and clothes.)

    Isn't it great to use up strings? You had a nice collection of blues!

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