My Star Dances is Done

All done! This little quilt is no longer a square! I followed Vikki's step-by-step instructions in Quilting by Improvisation to make a faux binding and envelope finish for the little guy. Basically, you draw the inner border shape that you like, cut freezer paper templates for each side, cut each border and turn under the edge that covers the quilt, and stitch down with invisible stitching. Then you draw the outer border shape on the quilt, baste it so you can see it from the other side, and sew on the backing fabric stitching just inside the basting line. Cut a slit to turn it inside out, seal up the slit with fusible tape, and cover it with the hanging sleeve. I am pretty happy with this first attempt, and will try this technique again, I'm sure!

Today is my baby's birthday...always my baby although he is about six-five and now twenty-six years old! Happy birthday, Dave! You have turned out pretty darn good!

Star Dance Progress, and A Good Coffee Table for an avid Reader and Quilter

You may remember the little art quilt I started as my first sample project from Vikki Pignatelli's Quilting by Improvisation. I decided to attempt quilting it on the Gammill with metallic thread. Well, this is an experimental piece, right? I had only done one other quilt on the longarm using shiny threads. The thread has to ravel a long way on the Gammill from the spool to the needle. I had good luck with Superior metallic gold and Glitter silver. The narrower spools such as Sulky had much more breakage. After quilting the "dancing" I took it off the machine, and will finish some free motion in the dark areas on my trusty old Bernina 1260. I really did not fuss too much about the tension, because I am going to use Vikki's faux binding method to finish the piece. The quilting was only done through the top and the batting. A fabric backing will cover all the little blobs and pokies when it is finished. Look out for some surprises, because this little quilt is no "square!"


This is what the back looks like now. Not so good, but it won't matter with this new method.

We went furniture shopping in the mountains last weekend and got some great new pieces for the cabin. They are handmade solid wood cabinets. One is an oak double-door cupboard, and one looks like a computer wall unit with hutch and lower cabinet. But, it has glass-fronted cabinets and doors of all sizes. While we were there we finally bought a new coffee table for our home. Isn't this one perfect for someone constantly thumbing through quilt mags, working on stitchery, doing crossword puzzles, or reading novels? Lots of storage space to hide it all. This is another hand-made oak piece. We got all of it at Antiques on Main in West Jefferson, but they are not antiques.

Doing the Happy Star Dance

This afternoon I followed the directions in Quilting By Improvisation to make this curved star with flames, called "My Star Dances" in the book. Vikki Pignatelli's instructions are very clear, with lots of photos and step-by-steps. I was fairly satisfied with my results, although I had a bit of fullness in the red part of the star. I will quilt it, probably on the Gammill, then add a faced backing in a curvy shape. My biggest problem today was that I burned my left ring finger on the steam iron when I was turning one of the seams under. Nice blister! HMMN, maybe the messy glue stick is not such a bad alternative.