Monday, April 21, 2014

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

Usually you see pictures of construction on a design wall, mine is one under "de-construction"--


 This is how the blocks looked before de-construction--


They looked okay but I wasn't in love with them.  And then I saw how Elaine finished her blocks.  WOW!!  And so the de-construction began...  Please see everyone's design wall at Patchwork Times.

Weekly Goals--
  1. Finish center of Island Chain
  2. cut squares for Honeysweet Pinwheels
  3. Load QOV top/piece backing
Its going to be a short week.  Fri-Sat-Sun is sewing with the Iowa ladies.  I need to rest up, those ladies are serious sewers!  Saturday I finished quilting a Bricks and Stepping Stones top--


Next will be trimming/binding it.  I set a personal goal of 10 tops quilted by May 1st, this was #10.  I love this pattern, (thank you Bonnie Hunter) its an anything goes for fabric.  Finishes to 86x106", a nice bed size.  My thread choices were a little different.  I had two threads I liked--

  
A dark purple Permacore and a variegated YLI called Hollyhock.  The Princess likes Permacore.  The YLI was noticeably thicker, especially in the darker dyed sections.  I have had the dark dyed sections be weaker and break during quilting (what a headache).  I thought, what if I put the variegated in the bobbin and it didn't have the stress from running through the needle at high speed?  It worked like a charm.  The dark thread blends in on the busy front, and the variegated looks pretty on the backing--


The weather is definitely more like spring.  The grass is getting green, trees are budding, robins are staking out territories.  Today we put the snowblower away and got out the patio set.  

Has spring arrived where you live?  


8 comments:

Norece said...

I have never taken apart a quilt before. I would be afraid I wouldn't get all the seams sewed back together. It does seem as though you will be able to leave the center of the quilt in place and only take off the outside blocks. I like both the old and new design.

Your stepping stones quilt is great. I love scrappy quilts.

Thanks for sharing.

Nancy said...

Deconstruction is not one of my favorite things to do. I hope it goes quickly and that you find the perfect setting for these lovely blocks.

Sara said...

Your dedication shows when you are willing to de-construct in order to change the design. Shows patience too! The new layout does catch the eye even better.

Have fun with the Iowa gals.

Paula, the quilter said...

I recently deconstructed a table topper someone gave me that consisted of 4 mariner's compasses. One of them had the points chopped off, so I took it apart and set it back together with 3 blocks for a table runner. Spray basted it today because it was a hot (80 degree) and calm day. Isn't Elaine so creative with her sets? Are you going to do the HST border?

Betty Baker said...

I recently did a customer quilt where I put the King Tut Josephs coat variegated in the bobbin, and a green thread on top. Since the backing was a solid black the result was really neat.

Alycia said...

Oh that is going to change the whole look - so cool! And congrats on getting 10 tops quilted!! That is a great challenge to yourself ;-)

mycreativecorner3 said...

such a long winter, I have the first irises coming up. Your quilts are very pretty and I hope you are happy with the finished results!!!

Pokey said...

Your new layout is wonderful, it shows the blocks off so well! I liked Elaine's also ~
:-}pokey

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