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not close, but pleasantly coming

Quilt update:

My crazy animal quilt is not going to the NC State Fair. And I'm okay with that. Even after taking out the mistakes and feeling like there was potential for the quilt, life and time simply got in the way. I was afraid I'd feel disappointed if I didn't make the deadline, but realistically I know it's not a feasible task. AND, quilting is my hobby. It's okay if a hobby project has to be temporarily put aside.

I have learned a few things in the process. One, the opinions and advice on sewing with invisible thread are all over the place. (And if you want your husband to wonder about your sanity, ask him a question like, "Do you know how hard it is to take out invisible thread?") Some quilters say "don't use it". Others say "it's okay to use on top but never in the bobbin" (the thread that goes in the bottom of your machine). And some quilters say they use it in BOTH, but you have to play with the tension dial on your sewing machine quite a bit. 1/4 of my quilt did just fine with it on top and bottom. But then my sewing machine went absolutely ballistic. I spent more time UNquilting than I did quilting. I spent two days with friends on the Carolina Stash Dash (redubbed Quilt Carolina! this year) garnering information on the various types of sewing/quilting machines out there. I asked a lot of questions.  The next week I did what all mature hobbyists do...I started quilting a different section with different thread. And my machine has worked like a dream 90% of the time.

SOOO....now that my machine is working again, I'm on to lesson two.  And that is the press and seal Glad wrap that works so wonderfully as a sew-over template on LARGE, open patterns, is TERRIBLE for small detailed work.  Oh, it still sews over just fine. But removing it is the problem. My poor little corn stalks will take several days just to remove all those little pieces from the leaves and ears of corn.


And speaking of patterns, I'm now in the process of learning lesson three.  It's not enough just to have cool backyard bandit fabric.  I wanted to quilt the varmints' footprints over their window openings. 
So I found this online, pulled it into photoshop to make multiples on one sheet of paper for my template, and quilted one window.  I like the fact that it doesn't overshadow the really cool fabric, but it doesn't quite have the pizzazz feel that I wanted. There's this thing called continuous line that is common in machine quilting that I didn't use, and now I'm wondering if perhaps I should have. But not to worry...there's 23.5 windows left to experiment on.

My target completion date is the end of November, though I hope to have it done much sooner than that. Meanwhile, I'm excited. It's far from state fair status, but I'm very pleased with how it's turning out, I'm learning new techniques, sorting through my thoughts on the machine that is best for me and my needs, and having fun in the process.

My mother-in-law is right. Quilting ain't what it used to be. And personally, I'm quite thankful for that.
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