A Little Gravity...

I have been meaning to blog about the Gravity Block of the Month I signed up for ever since I started it back in February.  This is actually one of the very few BOM's that I've managed to keep up with.  I've finished every set of blocks before the next ones have arrived.  However, I've never managed to write about it before getting the next package.  So I tell myself I'll blog as soon as I finish those blocks.  And well...  Here it is 4 months later.

The pattern is by Jaybird Quilts.  It's a great size at 96" x 97".  You need 2 of her specialty rulers to make it: the Super Sidekick ruler and the Hex n More ruler.  I've already used the Super Sidekick ruler for other things so I see that one being very handy.  There are 114 different fabrics in it.  The first month I got the book and rulers along with the fabric, but every month since then I've just gotten the two different packs of kona cotton.  There are 6 different colors in each package and each color is clearly labeled in case you need/want to get more of that color.

Each month you make the same block in 2 different colorways.  These are the most recent blocks.

And here are the other 6 from the first 3 months...

This quilt goes with nothing in my house.  It certainly doesn't coordinate with my bedroom.  I thought about that carefully before I signed up, but then did it anyway.  I love the colors and pattern that much.  I'll figure out how to make it work somehow!

This sweet girl is home after receiving radiation treatment for her hyperthyroidism.  She's doing well and having no side effects other than the fact that she's radioactive for the next couple of weeks.  We're supposed to be careful and try to stay away from her.  Of course, since she's come home, she will not leave me alone.  For a cat that likes to hide in the closet, she is sticking to me like glue.  I wonder if I might start glowing in the dark or perhaps develop quilting superpowers???

Moses

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. 

Proverbs 11:2 (NLT)

A Reason to 'Celebrate'...

I couldn't be happier to have finally finished one of my long time UFO's.  I confess I was a little too optimistic about how long this one would take to make.  I put the label on it before I started quilting it.  It says 'Fall 2011'.  Ha! Ha!  I pulled this out for something else to work on at the recent retreat I went to and just kept working on it when I got home.  I'm really in love with this quilt.  It shows me how far I've come since I first started machine quilting.

Because of the light background it's really difficult to see the quilting from the front.  However, I used a black backing and it shows up well there.  I almost wish I'd left the label off because then the quilt would be reversible!  (My husband told me he prefers the back too.)

The most challenging part was definitely the curved cross-hatching in the border.  I was stumped for the longest time about how to do this.  Eventually I pulled out this ruler I have for sewing clothes.

I marked all the lines with a disappearing ink pen one section at a time.  I still had to do a lot of math and calculations to get it to work out evenly though.  In the end, I definitely think it was worth the extra time and effort.

I quilted 4 different fillers around the Dresden flowers in the center of the quilt and duplicated them in the border.  I also added some Diane-shiko to the center of each flower and feathers between them.

I used both the blue washable pen and the disappearing pen to mark the quilt top when needed, but a lot of it was just free motion quilted.  The Dresden's are attached to the background with a machine blanket stitch.

I'll admit that when I first started learning how to free motion quilt, I did it out of necessity.  I had a bunch of quilts that needed quilting and I couldn't afford to send them out.  (I'd rather spend the money on fabric!)  Although I loved making quilt tops, I really didn't enjoy quilting them.  But over the years, as I've practiced and gotten better, I've really come to love it!  And I had so much fun finishing this quilt.  When given a choice between piecing or working on this, I chose to work on this.  I have another one I'm quilting right now and I'm forcing myself to take a break from it to do some piecing.

Funny thing is, I still have a closet full of quilt tops needing to be quilted.  Although I love doing it, I never seem to pick simple designs and each quilt takes me a while.  (But I always think they're worth it!)  Ironically, I have had the perfect place in mind to hang this quilt since I started it.  However, we have now decided to sell our house and I can't put it up.  I guess I'll just have to find that perfect spot in the new house...

So here are the details for this quilt...

• Size: 49" square
• Fabric: Nature's Gift by Deb Strain, Bella Solid Natural and Black
• Batting: 2 layers of Warm & Natural
• Thread: Aurifil for the piecing and quilting - black and #2310
• Pattern: I saw the quilt online and made my own version.

Now on to the next one...

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. 

Romans 12:2 (NLT)