I finished the Winding Ways/Wheels of Mystery quilt! I must say, as with life in general, things sort of worked out in the end. Although I was having real concerns about the waviness in the borders, once laid out it really isn't that noticable. I probably need to block this (light wash and pin to the carpet, right? Keep cats out of the room... impossible) but I went ahead and put it up on the wall last night.
Quilting... I used the walking foot and did graduated circles inside the 6 main circles. That worked out well with only a little puckering at the cross threads. BUT, that meant that there were the centers of the circles that were unquilted. That's not so good. I went ahead and meander stitched the outer background with my freehand quilting foot and that turned out much better than I though it would. I thought about doing leaves inside the circle centers but couldn't see the quilting at all with all the mixing of batiks, so I took out the small portion I tried. The seam ripper is my best friend. Instead I got the walking foot back out and stitched in the ditch at the inner circles. More puckering. What I SHOULD have done was stitch in the ditch at each block FIRST, then stitch in the ditch around ALL the circles, THEN do the gradated inner circles.That left only the border. I was undecided as to whether I wanted to leave the border plain to show off the dyed fabric or do some fancy freehand quilting. I tried a few inches of feathers. Not the look I want at all! Seam ripper back out. I tried fronds. No, no, no. Too fussy. Rip, rip, rip. So it was back to the walking foot and I did gradated lines around the border.
This would never get too many points from a real machine quilter and even my friends who aren't machine quilting enthusiasts may shake their heads at the jumpy stitches and poofs here and there. But it is great for my wall and I'm pleased and proud to show my first attempts at blending batiks and quilting with a walking foot.
31 comments:
It turned out absolutely beautiful. If your friends insult the work, they aren't true friends. A friend will find something positive to say and keep the negative to themselves, unless you ask them for helpful suggestions.
Good job! Bravo! I think it is just beautiful!
I think it looks fantastic! I would be proud to hang it on my wall.
It is totally wonderful.
This is beautiful! Machine quilting takes a LOT of practice, but looks like you are on the right track.
Kathy B
No Cal
That is just beautiful, Tanya! I would hang it proudly - honest, you just have to send it here. *G* Excellent job!
Allie in MI
Great quilt. It is just beautiful.
Congrats! It's beautiful!
It's beautiful! You should be proud of your workmanship and effort!
di
I think you did a fine job on the machine quilting--I can't see any puckers! Your graduated lines are a good contrast to the circles--design wise, it works great! Congratulations on your fast finish.
Beautiful, Tanya! Wow! Doing all those circles with a walking foot! You have a steady hand and a good eye. Not such an easily pieced pattern either. You did a good job. It looks great.
Wow, that looks absolutely stunning, the colours flow so well and the quilting looks good to me. You must be feeling so proud of it - and rightly so.
It is stunning, the quilting and the colors are a peaceful and sophisticated blend. Well done!
It looks beautiful Tanya. Your friends were probably shaking their heads because they didn't see the poofs and jumpy stitches they saw and they were in awe with your wonderful work.
I have a tendency to jump into quilting and then decide I should have done the stitch in the ditch work first. I have gotten away with not having to do it once or twice, so I guess I keep trying to do without.
Wow! That is wonderful. Love the colors, fabric, pattern and the quilting. I'm unable to enlarge your pic but love it anyway. You are very good with your walking foot.
It turned out wonderful, you should be proud. One of these years I'm going to have to take my batik collection off the shelf & make something with it. They're just too pretty to cut into........:-)
Oh, I love this quilt. from the fabric placement to the quilting, it all goes togeher so well. I'd love to put this on my wall also.
What a gorgeous quilt. I just love it. I think I would go cross eyed trying to do it. What is next? Thanks for sharing. Anne
Its beautiful! I like the way that the quilting emphasizes the circles. You have no reason to question your machine quilting ability.
Indeed you should be proud. Lovely! :-)
You have more confidence that I do. I think that you even attempted machine quilting yourself requires a big "Thata Girl". I could never have done something so beautiful as this. Congratulations Tanya! A Job Well Done. Rae Ann
You should be very proud because it's beautiful. The colors are wonderful and the design is ingenious. Congrats, it's a winner.
your flimsy was gorgeous before you quilted it - now it is totally AWESOME!
Your quilt is beautiful, and you made all the right choices with your machine quilting. The lines of quilting enhance the piecing and give it movement. Well Done!!
I can't even imagine how you ever kept track of where you were at any given moment! You should be very proud of your quilt. Every little mis-stitch we make in a project is always fres in our minds as soon as we finish - but in time, you won't even remember your - what? why it's perfect!
Wow, I think you faced your challenge and made a terrific art quilt! It's very beautiful. Now what?
Lurking Linda
It looks GREAT!! Congrats on finishing too :)
Looks fantastic! You've done a great job...can't believe how quickly you got it together and quilted!
Tanya, thanks so much for sharing this with us. Its beautiful. I love it. I want one, too!
I am clapping for your finish over here...can you hear me!!?!? It looks great, and see how much you learned about machine quilting?? Each one gets a little easier.
It's gorgeous! You can be very proud of your work on this.
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