Imagine that! I actually loaded a quilt onto the longarm, quilted it, and have removed it.
All that’s left are the binding and label. YooHoo!
It’s really exciting for me because I haven’t really quilted since I started this sweet job at the local Catholic school. I’ve enjoyed my time here, but I promised one year and, well, I’m done. I toyed with the idea of returning, but with Richard’s mom having Stage 4 Colon Cancer, it’s just impractical. So I decided to do the right thing: help him take care of her. She and I have become closer in the last few years, so it’s easy for us to talk to each other. Believe it or not, I actually listen.
That’s a strange wayward detour. Let’s get back in the right direction, so I can tell you about this quilt. I made the top several years ago. I’m going to guess seven years, but who knows? When I added another top to the basket of UFO tops, I pulled this one out and decided it would be next on the longarm.
So Friday I found some large pieces of blue fabrics to create a backing. Now here’s my backing process: Pull some large pieces of the same or at least coordinating colors. Begin by sewing the smallest pieces together. Add on larger pieces, then longer pieces, then whatever I need to get the backing large enough for the longarm. I create these by sewing the longest scraps in to even longer strips.
This top is 54″ X 60″ or thereabouts, so I kept adding until I had at least 64″ X 70″. I like the extra length on the top and bottom for wiggle room. Also, so I don’t have to stretch to the next parish to reach the hardest part of the quilting process–the top edge. Anything left over becomes either binding or scraps. It really doesn’t matter which.
To create the top, I just cut some six-inch squares of stripes and plaids using the Accuquilt cutter. Sewed them into rows. Then sewed the rows together. It’s as easy as it gets. I suppose I should have sorted colors by hue and arrange them. But not me. I like to just go all willy-nilly and see what happens. It’s never as pretty as it could be, but that’s part of the simplicity.
To quilt, I just used a medium stipple on the whole thing. It got a little mindless and fatiguing, but I powered through. At a high rate of speed. Dangerously fast. A bit apropos considering it’s got a guy vibe thanks to the dark plaids. I haven’t decided what to do with this one, it’s just going into the pile, I guess.
