KATHY'S FANCY STITCHING NEWS



Postings and ponderings of a quilting and knitting addict!





Thursday, June 14, 2012

Eating An Elephant

      Do you remember that little riddle you probably learned as a child?  “How do you eat an elephant? … One bite at a time!”

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I feel like I have been eating an elephant.  The quilt I thought would take 3-4 days to quilt (HAHA!  Was I CRAZY?) has been in the machine for 2 WEEKS.  That is partially because I had not planned on doing all the SID (stitch in the ditch) around the edges of each block, but after I got it in the machine I realized it had to have that done to look right.  SID is the absolutely HARDEST and most time consuming thing one can do on a longarm… especially on curved edges, as these are. 

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One bite (block) at a time I have worked through this.  It seemed to take forever because each block and melon had to be quilted individually.  Align the machine, stitch pattern, tie/bury thread tails, CHOMP!   Move to next one.    Repeat process umpteen million times.  CHOMP!! Actually, it was for 99 blocks and 218 melon shapes.  WHEW!!

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The pattern is Glorified 9-Patch, and the quilting design is “Curved Feather” by Christy Dillon of My Creative Stitches.  I had purchased a set of these designs, but nothing fit the melon shape.  I emailed Christy and suggested she design a melon shape for this set.  I knew it would not be done in time for me, but would be helpful to others.  Her response, “Give me an hour!”  She designed the feather spray just as I wanted and emailed it to me.  Now THAT’S customer service! 

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TODAY I FINISHED IT!!  I’m doing a happy dance!  I love the way it turned out.  And the back of the quilt is as pretty as the front.  I will really enjoy using this quilt.  It is the first project I have done with the huge collection of 30’s reproduction prints I have amassed over the years.  These fabrics just make me happy looking at them.

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The next step is the binding.  I found the perfect fabric at a shop in Alexandria.  This binding will be a bugger  challenge due to the shape of the edges of the quilt.  I’m hoping to get the binding sewn onto the quilt Saturday when our quilt group meets.

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Once again, perseverance pays off.  I can mark this UFO off the list.  That feel great!  And now back to customer quilts, where I am doing over-all designs and not tied to the quilting machine, as I have been for the last 2 weeks.  It feels good to be set free!

Have you eaten any elephants lately?  Persevere… one bite at a time.  Have a blessed week!

KAT

5 comments:

  1. I have no words to express how fabulous I think this is! Truly gorgeous. Aren't you happy that you ate this elephant. Love, love, love.

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  2. Kathy, it turned out beautiful! It may have been long and tiring, but it is absolutely gorgeous!!!

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  3. I have to agree: the quilt is gorgeous!

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  4. Kathy, it's absolutely stunning! Have you any idea how incredibly talented you are?!! Well, you are!!

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  5. Love it Kathy (and Christy)....so much so that I shared over at http://northlouisianaquiltersguild.blogspot.com/2012/06/quilt-tale-with-happy-ending.html

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