I had high hopes for this past week. I really wouldn't have minded having a pile of finished quilts to show off today. Yeah, no. Instead, I've spent the last 5 1/2 days straight with some level of headache. Thankfully there have been chunks of time that I felt well enough to sew, but it really killed my motivation overall. My thoughts go out to those of you who live with chronic pain.
I found that the thought of quilting was far more mentally taxing than the job of making binding, so I finished prepping bindings for the five quilts. This is great since I always hate feeling so close to being done and then realizing that not only do I have to attach the binding, but I also still have to make it. I'm excited to see how that scrappy binding does on my Star Light Star Dark quilt.
My daughter's doll quilt is quilted. She meticulously chose her thread color and sat with me to quilt it (since my machine was already set up for walking foot quilting and it was a quick job.) I love that she was so impressed with herself at getting it quilted in one day. It has three lines of quilting as it's only about 15" x 18". However, the quilting did go way faster than her first quilt, so she's right about that.
Today, I added the free motion quilting for her in an outline of her hand (photo below, with my marking lines still visible). I think it's nice that she wanted to include this sweet detail on the quilt for her friend.
My secret project (no photos) is about 36" x 36" and I've made a first pass at quilting diagonal lines that are spaced 1.5" apart. It always surprises me how long this takes and has made me consider calling it done with one set of lines. My initial plan was crosshatch quilting; I still believe that's the right choice. Better done than perfect may win out here. Time will tell. I've switched my machine over to free motion quilting. Maybe when I finish these other quilts I'll feel more energized to go back and do the crosshatch quilting. Fingers crossed.
Zoom Zoom, my race car quilt, is the one I'm actively working on now. I just started the actual quilting yesterday, but I've made an overall plan. Here's a glimpse of my first sections of quilting. The colored sections will each be quilted in matching thread. Just had to order the right green, since none of the six green spools I bought for the Wizard of Oz quilt were right. :-/
I pieced the backing and attached the label for Star Light Star Dark. It's mostly basted, which is to say that all the pins are in, but I was many dozens short on pinmoors, so I had to go back to quilting the above quilts in order to free up some pinmoors to finish prepping this one. I've also placed an order for more pinmoors, because this continues to be an issue and I have some larger quilts coming up in the queue.
Caterpillar Fizz is still waiting to be basted. I pieced the batting and taped the backing down to my bedroom floor... then, ya know, not enough pinmoors. Plus headache. Equals slower overall progress than planned. And that quilt back is still taped to my floor. At least the binding is ready to go, eh?
Thanks for visiting!
Jess @ Quilty Habit
The hand looks great! That's so sweet that she's making for a friend! The same thing happens over here with safety pins (and I don't even use a lot on quilts since I spray baste primarily). Ugh! LOVE the scrappy binding!!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Jess. My son's second quilt was to make a doll quilt for my daughter, so she's following in his footsteps by making a doll quilt as a gift. ;-)
Tish
It looks as though you have been quite productive, so I think that deserves a huge pat on the back. Glad to hear you are feeling better. Headaches can be the worst, they just suck the energy out of you. It's so sweet that your daughter is making a doll quilt for her friend.
sarah
Post authorThanks, Tish! It's actually nice to look back on Tuesday evening when I'm blogging at how much I did get done in the week. I just am also aware of the many hours that I could have been sewing, but wasn't. ;-) It's all relative. And nothing here is super pressing, so it's just fine. I'm so glad my daughter is enjoying quilting. I'm looking forward to taking her to give her gift.
Hayley
Wow!! You have been ridiculously productive despite your headache. Hope you feel better soon
sarah
Post authorThank you, Hayley. Productive in very small stretches. ;-) It all adds up!
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
I'm so sorry to hear you have been having headaches for so many days in a row; they can really take all your energy away, can't they? The progress your daughter made is awesome, and it is neat she is excited about the difference in how long the quilting took. I hope you feel better soon.
sarah
Post authorThank you so much, Yvonne. I'm feeling generally decent at the moment, so I'm hoping to make some good quilting progress this morning. Oh, my daughter also appreciated how quickly her quilt top went together (5 strips versus the 20 squares in her first quilt). I could see her opting for another small project next time. :-)
Allison
Sorry you are battling such a long lasting headache - lack of coffee does it for me, but that's easily cured ☕. You've achieved a lot, making the bindings for all five quilts was a very good idea and managing to do the photos and write up a blog post is going some in the circumstances. Hope you are soon better. Best wishes, Allison
sarah
Post authorThank you, Allison. Thankfully, the headache let up some when it was time to write last night. There have been chunks of time that I could barely carry on a coherent conversation. :-/
Johanna
I hope and pray that your headaches go away. I love the colors that your daughter chose for her little quilt. Your car quilt gave me some ideas for my youngest grandson, David, age 6, who loves cars. Maybe I can put something together quick and fun for him so he doesn't have to wait so long. That would be a nice surprise!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Johanna. Today was much improved on the headache front. :-) I love her colors, too. We had fun shopping in Portland this summer to build her stash. My race car quilt was designed around the race car fabric which has been in my stash for quite some time. I'm looking forward to gifting it. :-) Good luck on a quick quilt for your grandson.
Stephsgotit
Sarah, I am right there with you. I have had migraines since last week. I feel like I have wasted days, especially when I have so much to get done. I think your daughter finishing in one day is something I'd like to brag about someday, lol. I love her little hand print, what a sweet gesture to give to a friend. I hope you are feeling better soon. I love that quilting on the race car, great idea.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Steph. I hope today's improved headache situation is an indication that this is coming to an end. :-) Best wishes with your migraines! I think maybe I've made a baby quilt start to finish in a day or two... but mostly my projects take forever. My son was just pointing out that he thinks I finished the quilt top for his bed quilt (still not quilted) 6 months ago. I think it was well over a year. I could consult the blog to check, but I'm afraid. ;-)
Bo
Oh gosh, I hope your headaches go away permenantly PDQ...!!!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Bo!