Friday, January 26, 2018

Butterflies at a standstill

Borders are on the butterfly quilt!


I hadn't planned on that little skinny yellow border, but the two greens side by side were very bland, probably because though they are different greens they are the same print. Splitting them up with that little sliver seemed to do the trick.  The yellow also pulls out the yellow cornerstones from the center, so that's another win for the yellow.

Once this is quilted I plan to scallop the borders as you see in the EQ picture below.


It may be a while though.  I'm running up against my FMQ limitations.  I have an idea of what I want but I currently don't have the skill to execute it.  I want to do custom quilting on the butterflies and borders rather than quilt an all-over design.  I think I can manage that part.  Quilting the background is the sticky bit.  I think this quilt has a very traditional feel and I want to carry that to the quilting as well.  A lot of my "go to" walking foot designs seem better suited to more modern designs so I think I need to step up my FMQ game to manage graceful vines or feathers.

There are other projects to keep me busy, and possibly help me improve my FMQ, while this one sits a little bit longer.  I have a list.  I could move a project along or I could start something new. What shall I choose? I remember a time when I would have said unequivocally that I needed to finish everything before starting something new, but I have evolved since then :)!

16 comments:

  1. It truly is a beautiful quilt, and I'm sure you will figure out just how and when you will get it quilted. I'm confident your quilting will be as beautiful as your piecing! ---"Love"

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  2. Every time I see those butterflies I fall in love with them. I think feathers would look lovely.

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  3. Very nice. I think you were right about the little bit of yellow.

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  4. Wow! The yellow strip is a great choice. Love how the butterfly's turned out. I still have a blue and white bear paw baby quilt in the drawer (from the mid 1990's!) that was waiting for me to be able to hand quilt! I'd say start a new project while moving along the existing project. No reason you can't spend a little time on both =).

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  5. "Start something new" yells my squirrel!!!! The top looks amazing and I love the skinny yellow. It's just enough to set the whole thing off. Good luck on gaining FMQ skills - that's always a good challenge!

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  6. LOL 'have evolved since then'...think I'm going to use that line, not that it was more than a couple of years into quilting before I had UFOs... Are you thinking a little wild quilting Karlee Porter or Christina Cameli style? Christina has a great Craftsy class called Wild Quilting--which I need to finish--'who'd'a thunk' I'd have UFO, no UFCs? Unfinished Classes to watch! And review, ha. Sometimes ya gotta just jump in and not worry about getting it all perfect....

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  7. Fun design and block arrangement! The yellow border was the perfect addition. Lovely!

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  8. You have evolved to WIPs and UFOs, LOL. You are just like the rest of us! I think that yellow skinny border was meant to happen for sure, it sets it all off so nicely.

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  9. It's looking wonderful! The skinny yellow border was a good idea. Practicing FMQ on smaller projects and/or donation projects is good. Sometimes you just need to set something aside until your brain thinks of something (usually in the middle of the night)!

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  10. The tiny yellow border was the perfect touch to break up the greens and tie everything together.
    The scallop is a beautiful addition. I have never bound a scalloped edge--the thought makes me nervous.
    I laughed at the "I have evolved" comment.

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  11. Good for you that you've decided to build the skills you need to quilt the Butterflies! I'm looking forward to seeing the projects you use to hone your FMQ. I like to make small charity baby/toddler quilts for that purpose. The small size is easy to push thru my machine so I can concentrate on quilting instead of wrestling, and the bright colors hide any wonky stitching :)

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  12. Love your scallop-y vision for your butterflies Joanne - I'm sure you can pull this all off! Have fun mastering some new fmq techniques!

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  13. Your butterflies are wonderful! They look like they are flying around a lattice work tower in a flower garden! The scalloped border will look really nice.

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  14. Good luck with your FMQ. It's such a scary plunge, but worth it. The scalloped borders will be cool!

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  15. The yellow strip made it pop, the green has brightened it and the scallops will finish it. It will get done soon.

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  16. Your quilts make me realize what a simplistic quilter I am. No fuss, no muss, no 'on-point' blocks... simple borders; stitch in the ditch am I. I must persevere and perhaps one day I will be a more extravagant quilter. Thanks for sharing your quilt skills as something to work towards.

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