love beads

I've been really lucky in the past year in that I'm able to sew midday almost whenever I want. Having that flexibility has meant that I don't always sit down and use that time to sew and tinker. More than likely I'll get distracted by my knitting or random jobs around the house. Ironing, fun! I've decided that it's time to put my nose to the grindstone and use the time I've been given to a semi-productive end. I'm going to put 2 hours on my schedule every weekday for time in my sewing room. Quilting, sewing, designing, muckin' around, whatever. As long as I'm at my machine with the iron on, it'll count.

I sat down today with a hunk of muslin and some yummy variegated Gütermann thread to work on my free motion machine quilting skills. Lordy, do they need some work. I've been trying to concentrate on stippling without overlapping the stitching. I find it really hard to maintain an even pattern without adding in a big loop over something I've already done. I catch myself heading into corners with no escape. Whoops! Keep practicing, right?

I'd like to get better at stippling in anticipation of starting my next big quilting project. Kim over at dioramarama has started a modern quilt-along that I simply couldn't resist joining. The idea is to quilt something with the Modern Quilt Workshop book as the starting point.  I've been pouring over the book since it arrived. I think I've decided on the Love Beads pattern for a queen size quilt for the bedroom. The vision I have right now is a medium brown with light blue beads and dark blue strings, red binding or some variation thereof. I'm basing my Big Idea off a previous Big Idea I had that I painted on the wall in my Vancouver condo.

There was a Douglas Coupland quote I read somewhere (I'll be damned if I can find it now) about the giant stripes that used to be painted in elementary school hallways. They were wide, fat swaths of colour that were "leading us around the corner to our future" (or something along those lines.) Never one to shy away from a bucket of paint, I put my own version on the wall in my Vancouver condo a few years ago. (I don't have a good picture of the final paint result - only this one from when I was trying to sell the red table on craigslist)  At any rate, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to translate that Big Idea into this Big Idea with fabric. Nothing like a good challenge...

Comments

[sequinK]

Good for you! I haven't been working for the past week and it's amazing how easy it is to get distracted by this and that around the house.

I ordered the Modern Quilt book from Amazon a few days ago and can't wait to check it out. But maybe I should get around to finishing the quilt I started this winter (my first) first!

[Kim]

Oooh, what a great Big Idea. The thought of big painted lines at elementary school got me all nostalgic.

Are you as scared as I am about quilting a queen-sized quilt?

[Stasia]

Good for you, planning to devote time to your quilting. I succumb to the lure of the dirty tub all the time, and never seem to make progress on my projects... Why do we put off what matters most?

I think your stippling looks great... have yet to try the new feet I ordered for my machine. Hmmm, maybe my fear of starting a machine-made quilt is what is making me do so much housework... ;)

[pixie]

Found you via flickr, added you as a friend today. I am also doing the modern quilt a long! :)