It’s always worthwhile, wouldn’t you agree? Practice makes perfect — we’ve heard it and said it all our lives. Because it’s true! If you want to be expert at something, if you want your skill to show, if you want to be (reasonably!) proud of your work, then it’s worthwhile to pursue excellence. My good friend, Trudy, says that working with small blocks is a good way to perfect piecing skills. To that end — here’s a chevron “mug rug” made from 1 3/4″ half square triangles — which were the “excess” trimmed from “real” quilt blocks! I plan to quilt it and bind it next week.
Tag Archives: Longarm quilting
Headed in the right direction…
Moving forward — it’s always a good place to be. Learning something. Improving a skill. Understanding the ‘why’ in a problem or a process or an idea. I’m working hard on the skill of ‘precision’ in my quilting these days. A friendly competition with myself. Very satisfying to see the results improve day by day.
Starry, starry night….
This quilt, a pattern published in McCalls Needlework and Crafts in 1979, became the connection in 2014 with another quilter. She, like me, chose this challenging pattern for her first quilt! She finished it in a year, and hand-quilted it … Continue reading
We called her Mima…
…the wonderful great-grandmother that made this quilt, my mother’s grandmother. I often think I didn’t get to spend enough time with her. She was tiny and frail from my earliest memories of her — with paper-thin, baby-soft skin, wispy hair … Continue reading
Learning…
I learned many things watching other quilters try out the longarm at the Ellis County Quilt Show Friday and Saturday. One thing I learned is that almost everything is pretty in variegated thread! This is probably the best “feather” I’ve … Continue reading
The flip side…
Here’s the flip side of the stained glass coin from yesterday’s post. Quite different — but just as lovely in its own way. I’ve posted about this quilt before — but I just can’t stop looking at it. Pieced before … Continue reading
Don’t waste time…
I spent about a year and a half writing my first novel, about a year and a half editing it, and about 30 years thinking, “Oh no! What if I can’t really do it?” I can tell you, that 30 years was a big waste of time! What are you hesitating to do? If it’s longarm quilting — quit wasting time! At Seldom Seen Quilting it’s affordable and painless to learn — and I promise you will be able to do it!
Close, but…
This is a “current” version of Sunbonnet Sue, one that I did on my embroidery machine from a purchased design. It’s nice. But it doesn’t quite evoke the same feeling as the vintage blocks I have. I think it’s because … Continue reading
Learning from each other…
I have decided it is impossible to visit with another quilter for more than five minutes without learning something! How much fun is that? Yesterday, for instance, I learned there is a book by Leah Day with 365 different free-motion quilting patterns, you can use a carpenter’s tape measure to make a snap closure for a quilted handbag, and practicing a pattern on the longarm in “silent” (not sewing) mode helps you relax!
Shining eyes…
Today, a small boy with shining eyes and a winning smile bounced into the studio and announced, “It’s awesome up here!” with a voice as loud as all adventure! We pulled a chair up to the railing to allow him the full effect of our mezzanine view, and then I just soaked up his wonder. It fueled my creativity for the rest of the afternoon!
seldomseenquilting 