Happy Tuesday, friends! Another week has passed and we’re checking our lists from last week and preparing new lists for this week. On my list last week was pressing the backing, batting, and quilt top; basting, quilting, and binding it. I also had working on my Merry Xmas cross stitching progress. Let’s see how I did…
Well, I pressed all the parts of the quilt sandwich, I basted it, and I quilted the big squares of the motorcycle print. I went with a sort of maltese cross design, but it didn’t turn out very well. I looked up the last time I free-motion quilted and it was my Christmas quilt from last year… that I finished in September of 2016. So it has been 14 months since I last did free-motion quilting. To say I am rusty and need to re-learn to keep my foot pedal speed equal with my pushing the quilt around is an understatement. Of epic proportions. Thankfully the Mister is not expecting a perfect quilt and is happy with whatever comes of my reacquainting myself with my sit-down longarm machine. He told me it didn’t matter if the lines were straight enough, since I was going to wash it and it would shrink and get that scrunchy old quilt look I love anyway. Love that man! I still have filler quilting to do around the blocks, and I will work on that this coming week.
As far as my cross stitching, I’ve made some decent progress on it that I am happy about. I’m not sure how much longer it will take me to finish this, but I think maybe a week and a half at the most. I’m loving the creepy Christmas feel this one has. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, to be sure, but it’s definitely mine!
Speaking of Christmas, have you started your holiday crafting? Will you be making gifts this year or shopping for gifts? This year will be a combination of both for me. I am excited to see what you all have been working on!
This week’s To-Do list:
- Finish quilting and bind the Sturgis quilt.
- Keep working on Merry Xmas stitching
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Stitch ALL The Things 
It does take awhile to get into fmq after some time away, I think I’ll be very rusty when I get back to it, although I don’t have a sit down long arm. I am sure the quilt will be much loved anyway by the sound of it!
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Hi, Kathryn! Oh, wow, did I ever surprise myself with how much of the free motion quilting skills I lost! It has just made me recommit to making sure I am doing some quilting every month and that should motivate me to keep my FMQ machine table free of piles of fabrics from other projects… Which in turn should hopefully help me keep my room a bit more clutter-free than it became this past year! Hahaha!!
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Hi Christine,
I just have to giggle looking at the newest Christmas cross stitch project. The skeleton with the Christmas hat on is just too funny, and the spiders on the skirt. Heehee. I think your quilting looks fine, and I absolutely agree with your husband. It will look fabulous when it is washed and all quilty squishy. I have never tried to do a whole quilt with FMQ – just parts here and there. It is certainly a skill that would be diminished with time away from it, but on the other hand if you keep at it you will get your groove back. Happy Tuesday! ~smile~ Roseanne P.S. I also found it funny that Kathryn and I posted the same block in different color palates.
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It is a funny Christmas stitching project, for sure! Thank you for the encouragement about the quilting. I think I am just disappointed that I didn’t keep on top of my quilting like I should have and I can see the decline in what I had learned. But I will get back into the swing of things and relearn the lost skills. I did chuckle too at your and Kathryn’s block pictures. I love seeing how a block looks in different color combinations and you both did that perfectly! 😀
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Has it really been that long since you sat down to your quilting machine? You have had a productive year of sewing bags – must have made the year pass too quickly for quilting time! I like what you are doing on the Harley quilt! Nice that Brad likes it too! And that Christmas cross stitch! I love her earrings! I wonder why they stand out to me? As for holiday gift making, I only have a few little things I hope to fit in around my regular sewing. And I bought a few gifts today from a friend who just did a craft bazaar.
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Hi, Sharon! Sadly, yes it has been over 14 months since I used the machine. I used it as a storage table for all of those months. I am definitely making sure that I do not do that again this coming year. Not only is it bad for my free motion skills (which I have to relearn), it’s really bad for the machine. All of the grease inside the moving parts needs to move around, and not set up and harden, which is very likely here in the desert. I think I want to find a FMQ along like you did this past year to help make sure I use the machine every month (in case I get sidetracked with other sewing again), and to help me with my quilting skills.
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I like your ghoulish cross stitch – it’s exactly the thing that my daughter loves! Have fun making it 🙂
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Thank you! This is such a fun chart to stitch. I have had to set it aside for a few days though, I am anxious to get this quilt binding stitched down so my husband can finally have his quilt!
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