Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Works in Progress

This week I've managed to start LOTS of new things but have yet to finish any of them.  I blame it on my new sewing machine, a JUKI TL-98Q, "the Juki" as my husband calls it.  It is an absolute dream to sew on.  I've been using an Elna 3007 for about 12 years, and while it's perfectly fine for basic sewing, for quilting it just wasn't working!  Over the weekend I set up the new sewing machine and did lots of free motion quilting.  It is so much easier than I thought it was -- I'm amazed at the difference with a different machine.


I made these pillows for Holly's bed last year, but always felt that they were missing something.  So I took them apart, free motion quilted the background, and now I love them!  I'm thinking about doing a string quilt for the back of this pillow (then finishing with an invisible zipper) -- and started this yesterday:
Batting squares instead of paper piecing, for a quilt as you go method.
I can hardly wait to get started quilting my Sliced Coins Quilt Along quilt on the new machine, but I haven't decided yet if I want to try wavy line quilting or just do an all over meander.

I also made up a couple of "practice quilts," to try out different methods of quilting for my larger Easy Double Hourglass Quilt.  I'm not sure that I LOVE either type of quilting, so I'm still thinking.















And finally, if Tallulah would find a different place to nap, I could start working on this project!

Linking up to:
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

11 comments:

  1. What is it with cats and dogs and quilts? I know my animals always try to steal my fabric projects, too. Very cute pic of her! And she's got good taste, hanging out on your voiles. Can't wait to see what you do with them - I'm sitting on a stash of my own, trying to decide what to do with them. I adore that tree pillow, it's gorgeous! And your sliced coins top is fantastic. Congrats on the new machine, sounds like a winner :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Especially love your red & aqua quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the tree block. LOVE IT! The red and aqua is pretty fab too. Some great WIPs!(And so jealous you have a Juki!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Agree with AJ Dub--LOVE the tree block! (Of course, I have a weakness for purple. And for trees. So put them together, and, well... it's no surprise that I love it.)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ooh. What are you making with your Little Folks. I need ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  6. My dogs love to lay right infront on my ironing board, or basically ontop of my foot pedal to my machine! Crazy animals. I just love that sliced coin quilt, and I'm a sucker for a strings anything...that will be perfect for the back of your daughters pillow!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think your quilting is very good...I find it very hard to do curvy lines...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the quilting on your pillows! Looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  9. LOVE the tree pillow michelle : )

    ReplyDelete
  10. The red and blue quilt looks so very cheerful!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Those tree pillows are super cute. And the double hourglass quilt is incredible! So much fun stuff to look at in this post. : )

    Thanks for linking up to WIP Wednesday, have a fabulous week!

    ReplyDelete