Success!

Third Time's the Charm

Being a relative newcomer to modern quilting, I thought that joining in on the "Thoroughly Modern Mini" swap among the four Tennessee guilds would be a worthwhile challenge, a chance to try new things on a small scale. My swap partner didn't provide a lot of guidance -- just four of her favorite colors: eggplant, orange, lime, and aqua.

Double Star

I was never happy with the lack of contrast in my first attempt, a double star. Plus the gray I had selected for the background was DEAD. Plus, I had no clue how I would quilt it! My second attempt at the double star was way too dark and dreary to even warrant a photo.

Time to take a whole new direction. I dug out piles of books for inspiration and decided to do a fan blade kinda thing. I tried 10-degree, 18-degree, and 30-degree wedges. I tried background on both ends. I tried this and that ... The size was getting out of hand (could be no bigger that 24" square). I was running out of the selected fabrics and wasting the precious background fabric. I had to do SOMETHING and didn't want to waste more time trying out options. Could I do something creative with the parts I had already constructed?

Residue

Why, yes I could!!!

Project in Progress

First I constructed a serpentine piece from the 18-degree wedges and turned under the raw edges.  I stay-stitched it to the background in a few critical spots before creating the quilt sandwich. I used Sulky KK 2000 Temporary Spray Adhesive to spray baste the layers. (It was my first time using this product and I was extremely pleased with how easy it was.)

Then I took a big gulp of air (and a little gulp of wine -- OK, maybe a big gulp of wine) and started quilting. I decided to use my Pfaff with dual feed and that turned out to be a good decision because of the variety of attachments at my disposal. First I top-stitched the serpentine piece about 1/8" from the edge using an open-toe foot guided along the edge of the curve.

Then I echo-quilted the serpentine shape using the guide set at 2". (I only had to rip out a couple of inches that were more right-angle than curved!)

Quilting gauge

Next, I broke out the stitch-in-the-ditch foot to extend the wedges in matching threads out to the edges.

Stitch-in-the-ditch foot

Ghost wedges

I used my Clover Ball Point stiletto like a hera marker to mark my straight lines.

I bound the edges with the same fabric used on the back -- two of her favorite colors.

I put hanger triangles in all four corners so that she can decide how she wants to hang it -- oh, how I hope she wants to hang it ....



Windswept

This will be going in the mail this week. I sure hope she likes it!

Linking up with Connie at Free Motion by the River. 

And with Kaja at sew slowly for Ad Hoc Improv Quilting.