Monday, March 19, 2018

this is going to take awhile

As you can probably imagine, I am very eager to get my log cabin quilt finished. Last week I worked hard behind the scenes piecing a quilt back for this monster quilt....
... and I immediately basted it. It was a little chilly out on my 3 season porch (it was only 37 degrees), but duty calls! Ha! No matter the temperature, it is nice to have floor space to baste a king size quilt.
I debated sending this one out to be professionally quilted, but part of me really wanted to quilt it myself. (Maybe I have more stubbornness than good sense? I don't know....) I consulted a few friends and they thought that I should quilt it myself. With their votes of confidence, I decided to jump in and just do it. Even though I've quilted (literally) over 300 quilts, I still get nervous before I begin each one. This one, especially so! (I don't want to mess it up!) I am using the Tiara to quilt it, and so far, so good!
I'm quilting simple loop-de-loops and now that I've gotten into my groove, it's actually kind of relaxing. (Can you believe it???) I love how the tiara foot glides over the quilt and doesn't distort the strips. That's especially important for a quilt with this many seams.
Here's a photo to show my entire quilting set up. The tray table to the right holds my pin bowl, the bobbin side winder, my coffee, a sample quilt sandwich to check my thread tension, and a sewing needle to bury my thread ends. To the left, I have a few chairs to help support the weight of the quilt. If you notice, I prefer to pool the quilt (rather than roll it) to deal with the bulk during quilting. It's much easier to manage that way. Any way you slice it, that is a whole lot of fabric to manage. The extra throat space in the Tiara is super helpful!
This is the situation UNDER my desk while I'm quilting. :) It's pretty cute.

My kids are on spring break this week, so I'm not sure how much quilting I will get done, but I'm hoping for the best!
My daughter wanted to do some sewing today, too, so I pulled out my hello kitty sewing machine and she's been working on a few things. (YAY!)
So far she made a heat pack (made from flannel and filled with corn) and she's moved on to a doll quilt. It's so fun to have her sewing!!! (I'm trying to keep my excitement at bay so I don't scare her off. Hahaha!) Hopefully I'll have more of HER projects to share this week, too.

Happy Monday to you!

35 comments:

Tami Von Zalez said...

Oh no, don't tell me you lay your quilt sandwich on the floor to baste - I'm shattered! You must try the rolling the top and backing onto 8' long painted baseboards and then inserting the batting. It is the bomb technique - there are a couple of YouTube tutorials. No more crawling around, no puckers or smuckers. It is my go-to technique.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

so glad to see you quilting this big quilt - I haven't seen this sewing machine before so I must look it up to see it better. I do my quilts on the floor too and if you can do it that way too I think it is great to stick with what you want and what is comfortable for you to do.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

I love seeing how you are pooling the quilt as you work on it; those in progress photos are so helpful to people learning how to tackle quilting! And that is super awesome that your daughter is doing some sewing projects, too. It sounds like a very cozy week and I hope you both enjoy the time, company, and whatever you are able to accomplish.

Turid said...

Log cabin is so beautiful, and I'm always going back to that. I love all the colours and different fabrics you use.

Rene' said...

Happy spring break!!! It's nice to see your quilting setup.

EM said...

What a set up! Big quilts are intimidating, but so satisfying to finish.

Di~ said...

Oh, that log cabin quilt is looking very fantastic and so is that cute daughter of yours!
Your work ethic and talent continue to amaze me to no end! :) I've been working away on
little 4 patches to make 2 baby quilts for twin girls!

Unknown said...

Looks like me without the extra chairs trying to float the quilt I am trying to finish for a lovely family. Large also and I find it meditative. Yup takes awhile. Love what you are doing !! And i heard pool noodles work to roll but i always use my kitchen island

Janeen said...

That quilt is incredible! I love the contrast between your saturated strips and all those varieties of low volumes! And your quilting - love that simple pattern! It looks amazing!

Kristin said...

Your quilting looks great!! Have you seen Joanie Zeier Poole’s system to manage Quilt weight? She demos it every year at Quilt Expo. You should visit Madison and see it. :)

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

Your quilt looks fantastic and I love your loopy quilting. I bet you had sore shoulders after quilting this mammoth beauty.

Unknown said...

Amanda Jean-greetings from NH-sooooo look forward to your blog every day. Equally thrilled when I get to see all these great pictures of your process. Thanks for being so open and willing to share. Helps a novice like me so much. Absolutely adorable how your daughter has the bug. Hope mom me will too some day. Keep on keepin’ on!

Unknown said...

The quilt is beautiful and I'm impressed you decided to quilt it yourself. I am interested in knowing more about your thoughts on comparing the tiara to a standing long arm. I rent time on a long arm for my bigger projects to do my free motion quilting, but would love the convenience of having something bigger to use at home. No space for a long arm. Wish I had thought of this Friday at the workshop in Ripon. It was great to meet you and get inspired.

Chris said...

I love the loop-de-loops!

---"Love" said...

The colors and layout of your log cabin quilt are beautiful, and so is your quilting! ---"Love"

mangozz said...

Gorgeous quilt! I've always loved log cabins. You are really ambitious to quilt a king size but at least you don't have to do it on a DSM. I promised my sister a quilt before I found out she has a California king. I am not looking forward to it. I like the quilting design you chose.

Libby said...

I love your log cabin quilt, love the quilting ...........thanks for sharing. I am glad you decided to quilt yourself. Have fun !

Emily said...

That's really beautiful, I'm tempted to make my own! Love the quilting. :)

Unknown said...

Your quilt is beautiful! Love the Hello Kitty machine for your daughter too!

ChezVies said...

That's beautiful quilt and love the green sewing machine! I hope to see more quilts made by your daughter😀.

grammajudyb said...

Looks like a great set up. Managing the weight of a large quilt is a struggle. Putting on the binding gives me problems. I have to use a similar set up, anything and everything to support the bulk. Happy to see your daughter sewing. I could never get mine interested. She is 53 and still doesn't sew. She has other talents though!

Marlyn said...

I'm surprised you don't use some sort of support system to control the weight of all that fabric. Either make one to stand on the floor over your Tiara or hang from the ceiling or curtain rod? I love your loop design.

pennylanequilts said...

You are such an inspiration! I have several tops going that will need to get basted and finished in a short amount of time. They are not nearly as big as your gorgeous log cabin, so I'm going to take a deep breath and get going with my midarm. The first one up will be loops, too. I'm so glad your daughter is taking an interest...you have so much to share with her!

Anne said...

The quilting looks great! What a fun, beautiful quilt!

Karen said...

What a glorious quilt! And your quilting is beautiful! This quilt is definitely on my must-do list. How wonderful to have the next generation of sewists working along side you :)

Unknown said...

Love your log cabin quilt. How wide are the strips? I think it is wonderful that your daughter is doing some sewing! Nancy A: rangerer@sbcglobal.net

Sandy Panagos said...

The loop de loops are perfect with all those straight lines on the log cabins. Looks really good. It must be so fun to be quilting with your daughter.

Susan K from Canada said...

Hi Amanda - your log cabin quilt is SO beautiful -wow!
What kind of corn are you using in the heat pack your daughter was making. I use flax in mine. Does corn hold the heat longer I wonder? Always looking to improve what I’m making. Thanks.

Caryl @ cinnamon holiday workshop said...

I really like the log cabin quilt and the quilting looks great! I was stopped in my tracks with the Hello Kitty sewing machine and I had to do research. I now have a red Hello Kitty on its way to my house for me...AND it will be a fun machine to teach my ggd some sewing. Thanks for sharing!

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Patty said...

I've been thinking about getting a sitdown midarm machine. Love the setup for yours!

Dondi M said...

I'm so glad to see your quilting assistant under your quilt. I had a furry feline assistant who loved to lie on top of the quilt. When I would lay the quilt squares out on the floor to see just which ones were best friends, my furry assistant was most insistent to turn over the squares to inspect my seams. She did this job with great interest, turning over squares vigorously. She also checked the batting with great detail. She and minky battings got along just great! She loved to roll over and over. I was sure I was going to cut her tail sometime when I was cutting fabric because she had to be right there on the fabric. What an assistant!

KaHolly said...

That’s being pretty ambitious!

Misty said...

Your quilt is beautiful and I love the design you chose to quilt it with! Great to see your daughter sewing! Hope you two have a fun time together!

Unknown said...

I am so glad that you are teaching your daughter to sew and that she really wants to do it. My daughter is 29 and I have asked to teach her for years. She always says no, too busy. So wonderful to have that bond, and so jealous!!