Inspired and excited that I finished a baby quilt for my soon-to-be-born great-grandson, I dug through my treasure trove of unfinished quilt (UFQ) tops for a new project to complete. I have a whimsical piece of pre-printed Winnie the Pooh fabric that I think I'll make soon. My biggest decision is how I'm going to sew it. Straight lines are so boring.
I have some tops in my stash that were made at least six years ago. I became pretty proficient in making small ones using 'jelly rolls' which are pre-cut 2 ½ inch strips that are already color coordinated and ‘charms’ pre-cut stacks of squares, also color coordinated. This is the best way for me since I seem to be lessthan- proficient in cutting straight lines or coordinating colors. It takes real talent to use a rotary cutter, a quilter's ruler and a cutting mat and still come out with wonky lines. Maybe I need to learn to attach the wonky squares for a unique design. Maybe. Someday.
I also found a few unfinished quilt squares. I have no idea what I did with the rest of the fabric that I started with. I might have given the rest of the fabric away several years ago when I had our daughter- in-law help me thin out my craft closet a bit.
I do have a top I made many years ago that is approximately full size but I'm unsure if I'll ever complete it. I don't think I can cram that much fabric and batting into the neck of my machine for quilting and, as I've said before, hand quilting is out at this stage of my life.
While I'm trying to decide on my next project I need to practice making some kind of design when sewing my 'quilt sandwich' together. As of now, I've only used straight lines. Stitching 'in the ditch' seems to be a favorite and the easiest. Boring! I've been watching videos on my favorite website where one can learn anything one desires hoping I'd be able to learn 'free motion quilting.' It's more complicated than I thought. Apparently, there's more to it than just making a lot of squiggly lines. There needs to be a pattern and some symmetry in the design. One lady said I needed to clean my sewing machine of dust bunnies and stray threads, oil it (which I've NEVER done), replace my needle with a new one, and make several passes on practice fabric for the perfect tension, on and on and on. She never did get to sewing on her quilt. It made me tired just watching her.
I'm hoping to decide on which top to quilt for our daughter's special birthday (which I won't mention which one so I don't get killed LOL) before it rolls around in about two months. Do ya'll think I can do it? I'll let you know next week. Ta-ta for now.