Long Time No See!

Holy cow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've written anything on my quilts. Then again, I've been knitting and crocheting almost solidly since the last post. Now I was productive in that realm right up until I ended up with DeQuervain's Tenosynovitis that ended up with my having surgery on it at the end of last year. I'm still in occupational therapy for that, but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

When March hit, I got hit with the "finish it up" bug. I had two quilts still in partial piecing mode and two quilts in ready to quilt mode (we won't discuss the number of knitting and crocheting projects in partially finished stages). I've signed up for some classes on Craftsy and have been learning new techniques on free motion quilting. I hope to use them on my new quilts.

This is the quilt that is currently basted and ready to go under the ol' machine needle. It's for my youngest son. Last year, I realized that he was the only one in our family who didn't have a quilt.  Well, besides myself. But finishing one for me isn't very high on my list at the moment. I did a sample block chunk made up from several of the same fabrics to play with my free motion quilting as it's been a LONG time since I've gotten this far on a quilt.  I like how it turned out and plan on using this free motion pattern on his quilt with a double line doodle swirl in the border. All of that after I stitch every single seam. It turns out that emphasizes the piecing process. As there was serious piecing in his quilt, I want it to show up, by golly!

Yeah, I had a few issues as I'm using cotton thread on the back and polyester thread on the front. You might be wondering why in the world I'm doing that, but it's because I wanted a single color on the back and beats me how you wind thread on my machine from a cone. LOL That and I'll be using multiple colors on the front. This sample is going to be turned into a matching pillow for his quilt.  How does this match, you might ask?  Well, I made a minor error when I bought the backing fabric and I didn't get enough. So, I ended up making a few adjustments and added a pieced section.

Not the best photo, but you get the idea. ;-)  This is a strip that runs down the very center of the back of the quilt. I think it's going to look great. Obviously, I will NOT worry about stitching in the ditch on this side. Only the front will get that treatment. 

So, that's where I'm at on his quilt. It's basted and ready to be quilted. The sample block is sitting on my cutting table for me to admire and remind me why I'm going through all this work. ;-)  I suppose I should stop blogging now and actually get around to starting the quilting, especially since the cat is currently not claiming it. Every time I turned around yesterday, he was on it, no matter where I placed the quilt. He has decided it's his. I hope I can convince him it belongs to my son when it's finished... lol