finishing up a quilt

I dug out a quilt I had started at the beginning of the year to finish.

The Plan is done on quarter inch graph paper. I have Electric Quilt 6, however, I find it frustrating to use. I don't know the program well enough to put what I have envisioned into the program, and get what I see in my minds eye out. So I get out my graph paper, mechanical pencil, Pink Pearl eraser, and three sided scale and go to work. It is done in a flash. I am a Luddite, I guess. KISS works every time!



The gingham and red squares are from 9 patch blocks Mother had set together, enough blocks for a bunch of quilts. I have two quilts put together. (I'll have to get photos up to show you.) There is a letter-file box of those blocks to use up. The blue fabric is from a clearance sale at Wally-World.



I bought every thing they had in that print design. At a dollar-a-yard who could resist and something I have always wanted to do. Yeah, I know, first off Wally-World and then the fabric not from a quilt shop. Here is my philosophy(rant) on this: These are not heirloom quilts. I machine quilt them instead of hand quilting. (See previous sentence.) I want them used by whomever gets them. Whomever they are, they are not going to care for the quilts with the specialty soaps, wash them in a bathtub, lay them flat to dry, while supporting the quilt when it is heavy and wet with a sheet under it. The reality is, the quilt is going to be washed in a washing machine, probably a top loader, and run through a dryer. And the quilt will be washed way too frequently. That is the way the average Joe/Jane takes care of a quilt. (rant off)

I won't get to use the Crazy Shortcut Quilt method of quilting because I designed it before I stumbled on that way of quilting. I will quilt the two halves separately then sew them together. It is a lot of material to handle in the machine and it can get very tiring.

I had a brain storm but immediately dismissed it. I am not going to unpick what I have sewn together! But I will use it on the next one that is from scratch. The brain storm was taking each strip, quilting it; then binding the strips together. Hum, could be worth it! It would be so much easier. Well, while the backing fabric is drying I contemplate on it.

I'll let you know!

Have a good day!

Judy