Quilting, or How I Bit The Bullet

 I self-define as a piecer, not a quilter.  Let's be honest, I think I KNOW how to do it, heck I've even taken a few classes.  But it's not really my thing.  I always tell people that I quilt by checkbook.  And I'm not sorry.

People outside the quilting world often think that 'quilting' is the whole thing from buying the fabric to having a finished quilt.  To them I probably look like a 'quilter'.  I start with fabric and end with a quilt.  But I prefer to think of myself in the purest terms as a piecer.  I so love the process of choosing pattern and fabric, cutting the parts and sewing them together.

Then, I'm done.  Literally.  I have a tub of tops to prove my point.  

Now being a piecer has its drawbacks... dollars for one.  You normally have to pay someone to do your quilting for you, unless you can barter or trade for it.  So each quilt sent to a long-armer ends up costing somewhere from $75 to $100 and up as they get bigger.

Of course they are very worth it.  They come back looking fantastic!  The woman who is doing my quilts these days has a real flair for matching her pantograms to my fabric choices.  She is a jewel!

But I have done some small items.  This table runner I made for my son was a Quilt-As-You-Go project, all straight lines.  I can handle that.

But recently I have been making a real effort to get some of my UFOs finished without spending a ton of money.  Honestly, some of the early ones are not works of art, not long-arm worthy.

So it doesn't matter if the quilting is expertly done, right?  As long as they hold together.  They'd be good practice, and my sewing machine comes equipped with at least two different types of quilting feet.  OK, so I decided to give it a try.

This holiday table runner was purchased two years ago at least.  The fabric is gorgeous, and it could not have been easier to make.  A friend and I bought them together on the same shopping trip and hers has been done (and expertly so) for probably the whole two years.  So I got brave and jumped in.  I did a decent job in the center panel, quilting on the lines of the leaves and swirls.  The next two borders got really wonky figure eights.  Whatever.  The outside border got loops.  I figured it was going to be hard to see against the print.

OK, bound and done.

Next was this family quilt.  My sewing family decided to do a block exchange.  Aunty Sunny wanted a Christmas Quilt.  She started it.  She made the Christmas tree with instructions from our Friday Night Sewing sisters.  Everyone made twelve blocks of the same type and we swapped.  We were short on people so cousin Shelly and I each made two blocks, and got two quilts.  That was a while ago, because two of my cousins who participated have since passed away.  I decided to layer and quilt this one myself.

There are lots of blocks that have buttons or trims on them.  Santa has a pompom on his hat, and his beard and mustache are fringy.   I made the top left block and the bottom center block.  My theme was wreaths.  My quilting leaves something to be desired.  Hopefully I'll improve on quilt number 2.

This quilt was made from scraps left over from other projects.  To me it looks kind of Dr. Seuss-ish.  My daughter's father-in-law agreed.  Maybe he'd like it!  

My quilting is actually improving... at least it feels a little more comfortable, and my shoulders are not attempting to disengage from my arms!  So there might be light at the end of the tunnel.  Or is that the train!!??

Three UFOs finished in December.  Wow!  I amazed even myself.  I also bound Woven Ribbons, which was quilted by Lynn about a year ago.  Can I count that as four??  LOL!  I need all the credit I can get.

Quilt on...