Throughout my quarantine time I was at the machine most every moment I was able. There were so many quilts here…Quilt tops were coming out my ears!! There were 27 charity quilts here…and 25 of mine and Kelli’s (ALL VERY LARGE) quilts and 4 of my cousin Donna’s quilts.
After that experience I can tell you a few things for sure…
1- I will never let the stack of quilt tops around here EVER get as high again.
2- I am not going postpone doing quilt because I ‘m afraid to pick thread color or quilting motif.
3-I made a new page about charity quilts and hopefully that will help with the influx. I love doing charity quilts but only a few at a time. I did make a Frequently Ask Question page to help with that.
4-I found a couple of other people willing to bind and machine quilt some of the charity quilts so I am going to share the load. Thanks to all who offered to help.
As my quarantine was ending I counted up my quilts that were left here….
I have 3 charity quilts.
I have 7 of mine and Kelli’s.
I had 4 of Donna’s.
Comparing the numbers..no wonder I was pooped out. A LOT of quilts got out of here!!!
Just about then my cousin Donna messaged me and asked if I could finish up her quilts and mail them to her. Donna lives in Alaska and typically doesn’t like to spring for postage (I don’t blame her) so she picks them up when she’s here in the lower 48 states. She mentioned that she wanted to get a couple finished and donated to people who had a fire her way. Although I was VERY tired of my life attached to the quilting machine, I decided what’s another two more days at the machine??
She had some very nice quilts.
My favorite was this one.
The colors of it while on the frame were more of the true colors….really bright and pretty. I have enjoyed doing Donna’s quilt. They take me a bit out of my comfort zone. I debated a long time what to do with this. I finally ended up doing a flame design with a swirl now and then. I kind of reminded me a the wind blowing a storm in. I debated about the black along the bottom too. I ended up not quilting it.
Maybe I should have…who knows. In the end it can be done on a domestic machine if she decides she wants it.
I finished the quilts up and found boxes for them so they are off and on to Alaska.
It’s so hard quilting other people’s quilts. I always feel so uncomfortable not knowing what people want….or what my capabilities are. I’m truly not a professional machine quilter. I always feel like I’m not quite good enough..I do know for sure that I NEVER want to be a professional long armer.
There you have it. That’s what has been happening on the quilting machine over the last few weeks. I feel completely happy with what’s left here for me to finish. It’s finally closer to a manageable number…I think 10 all together. I plan to keep working on them though. I want to have even fewer quilt tops here. Wouldn’t if be truly amazing if I got completely caught up with my quilts….ah, that might be unrealistic…but it’s nice to think about. Hopefully I’ll get one more done this weekend….little by little….
Today we’re sharing our finished quilt at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts.
They turned out beautifully!!! I’m hoping on my next weekend or week off I can get the binding put on and delivered! Thank you so much
Wow, you get a lot done!!
That is amazing. I”m truly impressed by how much you are able to get done including still blogging with us.
Congratulations on what you accomplished. You may not be confident in your quilting, but you have inspired me to branch out more.
You are my hero! I am going to stop procrastinating about thread or quilting design and get some of mine finished, too! Thanks for your honesty and inspiration!
When I take a quilt to be quilted I leave it up to the one that is doing the job. The only thing that I ask is that they do an edge to edge and not too much quilting as it makes the quilt a little to stiff for my liking. As far as design and thread goes I usually leave it up to them. I have never been disappointed.
Holy Moly! That’s a whole lotta stitchin’ going on. I can’t believe you had the stamina to do all that while you were recovering. I have also come to try to appreciate when is the right time for “Finished is better than perfect.” for some things. I find the more I exercise that skill the easier it is to discern which is right for a project… finished? or perfect?
I know what the people want. They want a quilt to be quilted! Continue doing it the way you think makes sense, and they’ll love it.
From the pictures I’ve seen, you have no reason to doubt the quality of your quilting. We all doubt ourselves, but we should all stop! :) Pat yourself on the back for a job well done and for getting that number of quilts done!
I am very intrigued with the first quilt you have pictured from Donna. Please ask her to share what pattern she used. Thank you!!
I recently purchased my sister-in-laws Gammill quilting machine. She used to pin all quilts in. I decided to purchase the Red Snappers from Nancy’s Notions. http://www.nancysnotions.com/product/10+ft+quilting+frame+loading+system.do This makes such an easy install and removal of the quilt from the frame. It saves me alot of time. How do you attach your quilts? I really enjoy your blog.
I am a pinner. The red snappers looks interesting.