Now Where Were We...?

Now that I've completed the Festive Mystery quilt (I'll post pics when I remember to take some in daylight), I'm turning my attention to getting on with mum's quilt. It has taken a great deal of willpower not to dive in and join in with Lynn's Country Charmer, which is just the prettiest scrappy quilt, but I have kept mum waiting far too long already for me to finish hers.  

Those with the memory of an elephant may be able to cast their minds back to last May when I last worked in the quilt, and recall that mum chose one of QuiltSue's wonderful designs from her most excellent book, Pick Four.

To recap, mum, big sister Helen and I went to the Cotton Patch last Spring and chose fabrics to complement her curtains and carpet; I pieced the top, and am about two thirds of the way through quilting it.

Back to now, I've spent a couple of evenings continuing with the geometric infill of the cream sections.  This is a right bloody faff, as I'm using the walking foot in order to keep the lines straight and the stitches even, and every time I turn a corner I have to manhandle the quilt round for the next run.

I'm about half way through, then after that I will re-do the daisies in the middle of the nine patches - I don't like them as they are, so I'll stitch in the ditch around each square of the nine patch and quilt a little daisy right in the middle.  That's the plan - at the mo - anyway!

The Holly and the Ivy....

Not a  lot to report here - I did like the holly leaf motif for quilting of the Festive Mystery after I considered it further the other day, but - my - it's taking AGES to do!

I'm about three quarters done, then the binding (it goes against practicality, but I think I'll use the white which is the background fabric) and a label to do.

The visit that mum & I were scheduled to make to godmother Merris this weekend has been postponed, which is just as well from a taking-a-quilt-as-a-gift point of view; but the delay is because Merris is under the weather, so that's not so good.  She should be up to visitors shortly, I hope, and the quilt will be ready and waiting for when she is.

Knuckling Down

I've been putting off quilting a Festive Mystery because I am unsure if the zingy mettalic thread will be all too much; and I also hadn't had any brainwaves about how to quilt it.

The deadline is looming for finishing this quilt, though (a week on Saturday, to be precise), so tonight I bit the bullet and got in front of the machine.

Good news - the thread runs through the machine nicely; it is delicate enough not to overwhelm the quilt; a brainwave included holly leaves.

I didn't make the mistake of ploughing on at the hint of a good thing but sensibly stopped with a small section done so I can stand back in the daylight and look at it to make sure I'm happy with the result.

Favourable vibes so far, however.