Friday, August 29, 2014

Needs Must......

Happy Friday - Nine Patch Swappers are welcome to send their packages anytime.  I'm excited to see your patches and send them back to you.  Deadline is still Oct. 1st.

here is a little quilt i made ages ago with 4 orphan nine patches

Thank you all for your encouragement while I'm tackling the King sized  George quilt.  I have worked on it every day this week.

I am sad to report that many of your concerns about my marking choice was well founded!!  Many of the lines have worn off before I got to them :(
boo hoo boo hoo boo hoo   and also ^@#(* and also   $#%@&%^&^!!!!!!!

Needs Must - Right?  So while sitting at the machine I am remarking some sections.  You can see to the left where few lines are visible.

Sometimes I have are mark the ENTIRE CABLE -  now you might think me crazy for using the chalk here, but it's the fastest and best way with the batting and backing behind it.

Oh, the humanity, unpinning all the pins, marking, then pinning again before continuing......

Thank goodness Pride and Prejudice was on demand.  I like to watch movies that I've seen before.  I can just listen until it's time to watch the ending or a great scene.

I'm back in the "cockpit" - here is my set up.  The quilt is being held up by my big ironing board which I lower to match the sewing cabinet height.

I'm even employing my quilt filing drawer to hold the pin bucket, the all important REMOTE CONTROL, lol.  What my big scissors are doing there, I can't say.

I sewed between 5 and 6 hours 5 days this week and finished 7 out of the 13 columns of quilting.   Whew!

I'm loving how it looks and feels.

Now to prep the second half for quilting.  I'll start that tomorrow, in the meantime I'm off to the movies for a treat.

Fun For Friday:
What's better than my daughter finding a clearance dress for $10.00 at the outlet mall?

Hanna realizing the houndstooth print is CATS - She is an unapologetic Cat Lady.

Happy Labor Day to my US readers and Happy Weekend to everyone else!

22 comments:

Maureen said...

Okay, I'm just getting back to blogging so must look back at your previous post. King George looks fabulous and that must be one huge quilt! Sorry you had to remark. Having to redo things always seems to be part of the process for me. Frustrating nonetheless.
Your 9-patch houses are precious! As is Hanna's dress.

Lane said...

Hey, Barb. You're going to think I'm crazy, but try spraying the quilt with a bit of hairspray before you pounce it. The hairspray makes the chalk stick, just a little longer. Not foolproof, but better than without. Love the quilt and all the chains running through it. Lane

Julierose said...

Amazing how your quilting came out--I hate re-do's, too!! I like the idea of your ironing board on the side--my table is lower and catches corners ack!! Lotsa hours you've put in!! beautiful results, Barb! Hugs, Julierose

Pinkadot Quilts said...

Wow it is looking good! I feel for you having to remark, oh what we won't do for our quilts!

Rachaeldaisy said...

Some quilts just make you work extra hard, but by golly this is such an amazing quilt, and your cable quilting looks wonderful. Hopefully the second half will quilt like a dream. I love your little 9 patch houses. What a fun dress for Hanna, and so perfect for a cat lover. Have fun at the movies, tell us if it's a good movie.

Thimbleanna said...

Wow -- your quilt is looking amazing Barb! Are you thinking it may have been quicker to hand quilt it LOL? Hanna's dress is adorable and it looks so cute on her! Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Karen said...

We have something in common. I love Pride & Prejudice and love watching those type movies over and over.

Janet O. said...

I just love that little house quilt. What a fun use of leftover 9-patch blocks! So clever and cute. : )
Wow--George is really coming along. I feel your pain on the marking thing. I have pounced a design on a large quilt. I learned to handle it VERY carefully so that I could still see the lines to quilt them. It looks amazing, Barb!
I just had that very movie in last week while I did some piecing. It is my "go to" repeat "bonnet movie", as my friend calls the Jane Austen (and similar) movies that I love to have as background while I work. This week I have had Emma to keep me company. I have a few movie versions of each of her books and at times I do a marathon and work through all of the versions of one book during my sewing sessions over a week or two.

Teresa Rawson said...

Uh-oh...I think Blogger ate my first attempt at commenting...I will try again. Well done on not letting Big George kick your ass! Marking is my least favorite part of quilting, and I admire you for not having a tantrum. I have all the Jane Austen movies and listen to them CONSTANTLY while in the quilt cave (along with my Big Bang Theory DVD's) to keep me calm and entertained. Your quilt is so amazing...the marking problems will be funny, at some point, looking back after you have finished it. Hang in there!

Lori said...

Way to stay focused! I have a super short attention span when it comes to machine quilting big quilts.
Love Hanna's dress! So adorable, as is she!

christine said...

I had wondered if the chalk would stay while you manipulated the quilt. I hate marking so avoid it at all costs. However, you really needed to mark this one. Well, maybe not twice but you have learned, stuck with it and it is beautiful. The second half will be so much easier and the end is in site. Such a cute fabric for the dress...she is also just as cute!

Me and My Stitches said...

Wow - George looks sooooo good! I'm impressed that you didn't have a tantrum over the marking and throw it in the corner (lol - that's what I would have done!). Love your daughter's dress - so cute!

Beth said...

George is looking amazing! I can't believe that you are half done already. WOW. Marking quilts is always a challenge. I do not like to have to remark, of course who does?
Your daughter's cat dress is so cute (as is she).

Nifty Quilts said...

Yea! Half-way there, in only a week. The texture is absolutely gorgeous on this quilt. The scale suits it perfectly.

Ginger Scott said...

The quilting looks fabulous on George! I do the same thing with my big ironing board, it works great. I recently bought a pouncer, only used it once on a small hand-quilted quilt. The guy I bought it from said the blue and pink powders need to be washed off so maybe they would work better if you are willing to wash it afterwards. Just a thought.

Diane said...

I'm machine quilting a small quilt this weekend so I am feeling lucky after your king size marking issue saga. I'm so sorry but it does look good and your daughter is adorable. I have a little cat lady too. Hope the quilting is smooth sailing from here on.

Carrie P. said...

I really like the cable design you chose for this quilt. It looks great.
Such a cute dress!

Janet said...

That texture is gorgeous!! How frusterating about your marking but it really looks marvelous! Keep going Barb it is so worth it! Cat houndstooth! Wow - she looks beautiful in it :0)

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Love the nine patch houses! Your big quilt is looking good - I congratulate you on your perseverance! Those cat hounds tooth are so cute!

Browndirtcottage said...

Oh to be "Hanna" cute again!

Girl, I am so feelin' your agony and frustration. I once marked a top and came back to it later that night to find it had NO markings, they had vanished….aarrgh, I had picked out my 'air' disappearing marker instead of my blue water wash out marker. Boy oh boy do I ever double check my markers before I start!!
I'm so glad you cussed a little and then began over again. It looks MARVELOUS!! Your choice of quilt design gives it such movement!

Ruth said...

It's looking great! Too bad about having to re-mark though. My DS was just kidding me today about not actually "watching" TV because I'm always working on a project. I explained that I can listen and look up when it gets interesting, etc. I had to laugh about what you said concerning watching Pride and Prejudice!

Rose Marie said...

Wow .... love your idea of the cables throughout the quilt. You were thinking outside the box. Me, I would only have thought to use the cables only on the borders. So frustrating about having to mark your quilt twice. Yes, very frustrating.