After finishing The Lobster project, I had to decide what to work on next. The Tarts have been on the side burner (not the back burner!) for a few weeks, so I spent a whole afternoon machine quilting parts of it. I finished a checkerboard and I quilted one whole large corner block. I felt so exhilarated. I really felt like I had crossed some kind of barrier to finishing. I feel like I am nearing the end.
Don’t get me wrong! I do NOT feel exhilarated by machine quilting itself. I feel exhilarated because I am making progress. I am nearing a point where I can put the binding on and call it done….finally.
I am really running up against my limitations as a machine quilter with this project. I want to do some free motion quilting, but I am not good enough. Any but the most gentle curves are too difficult and not satisfying using my pseudo walking foot method. I would need a lot of practice for the kind of FMQ I want and I am unwilling to do the work.
I crossed another barrier by quilting the lime green round tea pot.
Up until this point I had only quilted backgrounds, not wanting to ruin the teapots and tea kettles. I might be over that fear after quilting this one.
You can see some gentle curves in this quilting. That is about the extent of what I can do with the machine quilting method I am using.
And there is some bad news.
I burned the quilt. Well, really the quilt got burned. I don’t know exactly how, but I think the quilt was shoved up against the light I have behind my machine for too long. The burn is worse on the back, but does go through to the front. It might look ok in the grand scheme of things, but I’ll have to consider what to do.
Despite the burn, I like the style of this quilt and am thinking of recreating the quilt, “He Tried to Make it up to Her”. I have been thinking about all the different kinds of fusible I have. After contemplating the feelings around the Tarts, it occurred to me I could remake ‘He Tried’ and then have Colleen quilt it. something to think about.
I’m glad to hear you’re pushing through the machine quilting barrier. I think it’s looking really good, just keep doing those gentle curves. The burned spot though, sheesh! Glad it didn’t start a fire or something. Maybe something like a little embroidered-on leftover milk foam to hide it?
Yes. I have to get this done since apparently it won’t quilt itself. 12 years of nothing happening have showed me that. Yes, I am glad that there was no fire. The glass shield over the bulb is missing. I don’t know why or how. Broken, maybe? I am thinking of applique, too. Not sure what yet, but something. I wish I were more skilled at needle-turn.