I am sorry to report that I have made virtually no progress on any of my WIPs this week. I have been sewing - a little - but these are not what I have been working on. I had hoped to get several quilts sandwiched and ready to quilt at the ECMQG meeting last Saturday, but since I didn't get the backs made, I wasn't able to get that done. I love the big floor in the fellowship hall of the church where we meet. It has a lovely indoor/outdoor carpet that holds the quilt very well until I get basting pins in it to hold it together. So, the Modern Maples quilt is still in the WIP pile, waiting to be finished.
The good news is that I now know exactly what I'm going to do for the back of this quilt, which I didn't know on Saturday, so maybe it's a good thing that I waited.
The bookshelf quilt is also languishing in the WIP pile, and for the same reason. Since I took this picture I have added borders to the ends to make it just a tad bit bigger. My friend Leona gave me a bit of this fabric (I think I have called it by several different names, but it is Santorini, by Lila Tueller) that I plan to put on the back, along with a coordinating solid, I think.
I decided that the Wonky Cross quilt needs borders too, since it's just not quite big enough to be useful. Oddly enough, the borders will involve gray!?! I'm going to get that done very soon (I hope) and then make a back for this one - maybe one large wonky cross? It could be cool. We'll see.
The Bento Quilt top is done too, and just needs a back. AFTER I finished this quilt top, I found several blocks that I missed because they weren't in the bag with the other and which didn't make it into the quilt. It's kind of a shame, because if I had seen them before, I might not have needed borders at all. But, rather than take it apart again, I think I will use the extra blocks on the back for a little pizzaz.
Oh! I almost forgot this baby... This one still needs the fill-in piecing around the points of the stars, and then maybe borders. Amanda says she put borders on one of her quilts of this pattern but not on the other, and I think it is almost big enough as it is, so I may just leave it, as it is quite large without borders. We'll see when I get that done.
I actually dug these ancient (from 2010) blocks out of the basket last week. This was one of the very first modern-ish quilts I ever started. The fabric is Breath of Avignon by American Jane. The pattern is a Moda Bake Shop picnic quilt called - oddly enough - Avignon. These were among the first charm packs I ever bought. In fact, it was kind of my return to quilting piece, and I started making the blocks on my old machine before I realized/remembered that my foot was not 1/4". Putting this one together may be a bit of a challenge. The good news is that the blocks have finally seen the light of day again, and I hope to put the top together soon.
So there's what's going on in my WIP pile this week. We;ll see if I make more progress than I did last week. I'm hoping I do - maybe it will get me motivated again.
Meanwhile, I have a question (well, technically, several questions, but they are all related)... Do you use pins to baste your quilts? If so, what kind? Or do you spray baste? (I've never tried spray basting.) What are the pros and cons, as you see it?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I have done both pin and spray basting - I hate pin basting it hurts my fingers so much! I use a modified Sharon Schamber's board basting method and use basting spray instead of pins - much quicker than pin basting and a lot easier on my knees and back! Here is her video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA
ReplyDeleteThese are all such beautiful quilts! I spray baste with 505 basting spray and would probably never finish a quilt if I had to pin baste it! lol
ReplyDeleteLove the maple leaf top! =)
ReplyDeleteI've done both...and I think I like the pins better, because the spray has such a horrid smell, my husband complains and it fumigates you! =)
(1) Your Modern Maples is just fabulous.
ReplyDelete(2) I am loving your Bento Box enough to want to try one. The color riot is awesome.
(3) I have always used 505 (the quilt store where I took my beginner class taught us to baste this way). I wouldn't dare to do anything else. I suppose the advantages are speed (lightning fast) and adhesion (every single millimeter is secure). I don't open any windows or doors, and I don't have any problem with fumes. Of course, what we don't know may always hurt us. But I don't baste a quilt too often -- maybe once every couple of months at best! -- so I think I'm all right. I baste on my kitchen peninsula. It's big to be sure, but I would never baste on the floor (ouch!! I'm TOFTS*). I'd use one or even two resin fold-away tables if I didn't have a nice big counter.
*Too Old for That --
I used spray for the last quilt I did, and it was quick! I did use a well-ventilated room.
ReplyDeleteI laughed at you calling a project from 2010 "ancient", as most of my WIPs/UFOs are much, much older than that!
ooooh that bento box quilt! LOVE! I'm a pin baster... I use the bent safety pins
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see all your so-close-to-being-finished quilty projects! Love the colors in the Bento Box, and the diamond-star quilt is charming. Did you machine-piece all those Y seams?! I have pin-basted for years. It's my go-to method. I use a Kwik Klip though, to close the pins, so that saves the wear on your fingertips. I swear, I must have a thousand pins. Need that many to baste the queen-plus-size quilts! I have now used one can of 505 basting spray and have another at the ready. I really like it for small and large quilts. I'm concerned about spraying in the house though. I wrote a post about how I used it, here: http://flourishingpalms.blogspot.com/2013/07/lifes-bloom-in.html
ReplyDeleteI love the borders on that Bento quilt. I think it needs that little bit of grounding, and wouldn't be as good without it. The extra squares should work well on the back, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the spray basting camp. Easy, easy, easy - driveway or pool deck easy - now that it's cooler out. I also have an old shower curtain liner that I use when I'm to impatient to wait for daylight, and choose to spray indoors. I just put it in the washer with a load of towels to remove the stickiness. I've pinned one large quilt and still haven't quilted it because I imagine it's going to be a nightmare. Recently, I decided I was going to unpin that same quilt and spray it.
ReplyDeleteYou know how much I love your Modern Maples. I think your fabric selection was perfect, even if your fabric line was Juggling Summer.