Monday, March 20, 2017

Gnomes and Quilt Plans

A big THANK YOU to all of you who gave me suggestions and ideas on how to quilt mom's quilt. Now this is why I blog!  This community is so generous with it's knowledge and more often than not, I learn even more than what I ask.  On thread color choice, I was all set to go with the large majority who suggested a neutral color of cream but when Angie at Sleepy Hollow Quilt Shop showed me a variegated thread with pastel, pink, blue and yellow thread that she says she uses a lot,   I fell in love with it!


The quilting pattern that I used is one called "Plumify It" that I learned in a Craftsy class by Patsy Thompson and I'll show more of that later when I'm done. I am struggling with making the pattern too small and am making a concentrated effort to enlarge the motif as I go.  I'm sure between where I start and where I end, the size is going to be quite different.

Just curious, can any of you fellow quilters tell me what your average number of bobbin changes is for a lap size quilt with medium dense quilting?  Is that something people track?  And also, does anybody know about how many yards of thread one Bernina bobbin takes?  I think medium dense is about where my quilting is ending up although I am going to continue to work hard to enlarge it.

I seriously consider each and every one of you who give me advice and suggestions as part of my mentoring group so THANK YOU so much.

OK, next subject . . .

I belong to a bee group consisting of quilters who belonged to the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers.  This month, Kate Heads of Smiles From Kate is our Queen Bee and she wanted a Christmas Tree and Gnome block that is supposed be to very wonky.  I have never made anything wonky before and this was WAAAAY outside my comfort zone so thanks for stretching me, Kate!  I had such a hard time not cutting things symmetrically,  and a couple of my blocks ended up not so wonky.  Here is my attempt at Kate's block.

Kate you stretched me but not enough to want to make a quilt full of these!   


Linking up to:

Love, Laugh Quilt
Main Crush Monday
Bambi's Show & Tell Monday





12 comments:

  1. Your quilting is gorgeous. I think when I start a bigger project, my quilting almost always looks best at the end. It's only natural. And I suspect no one but the quilter really notices the change.
    I tend to quilt too 'tightly'. It is hard for me to loosen up and not fight it. A work in progress I suppose!

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  2. That variegated thread is yummy! It was definitely a great choice for this quilt. Your blocks for Kate turned out super cute as well. I struggle with creating wonky things too. My brain just doesn't think that way :)

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  3. That thread works perfectly! And as usual, your quilting is gorgeous. I think Kate's block was something new for a lot of us. I haven't even pulled my fabrics yet because I am scared. Haha. I am hoping to get to it this week and will have a chance to blog about doing something new.

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  4. That is a great thread choice! Patsy Thompson has a lot of great ideas that are pretty easy to execute, I have one of her DVD's and refer to it a lot. Can't wait to see your finish;)

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  5. Good wonking, Janice! It isn't easy to make things wonky and not just...bad. I think you struck the right balance, with each little tree and gnome different but not wildly out of proportion to each other.

    The variegated thread is perfect! I'm so glad you found that. If I had to guess, I'd say I go through 3-5 bobbins on a lap quilt with medium quilting. But my medium density might be quite different than yours, and I have no idea if Bernina and Juki bobbins are the same size? So there's a wonky answer for ya :)

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  6. Awesome thread choice. I can't wait to see the quilting motif. It looks great so far.

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  7. Beautiful, I think your quilting looks great! No one will notice the size. 😊
    I ♡ the variegated thread! I have been using that a lot lately, too.

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  8. I love the use of the variegated thread! Haha I totally agree on the gnomes and trees - I guess that's why it's a bee block!

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  9. Plumify looks pretty, can't wait to see more! My Juki bobbin seems to hold more thread than my old (1020) Bernina, & I use a 50wt when FMQ with Juki. Usually 3 bobbins for medium to light quilting , maybe 4 if I ditch it first. I've been tempted to try bottom line, but a bobbin change ensures I am keeping Mr. Juki cleaned & lubed & cooperative. One bobbin at a time...

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  10. Oh nice thread Janice, I love that teaser bit you showed. You are going to end up a top quilter, it just gets better and better. I'm loving the block, the more symmetrical ones give great balance too. Much as I love the block I don't know if I would like to do a whole quilt of them, and that my dear friend is why YOU lot are doing them for me (hysterical giggles).

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  11. Thanks for linking to Show and Tell Monday and the inspiration you are bidding on! Bambi Hug

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  12. Ooh, that quilting thread is perfect! Looking forward to seeing how it all comes together. Your trees and Gnome block is very fun too.

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I LOVE meeting new quilting friends and always respond to comments so I'd love to hear from you!