EHonour

Thanks for the thoughts. I've heard of skinning before, but frankly it scares me. I've accidentally cut through fabric even when simply ripping a piecework seam, and I would hate to do so on a finished top or bottom! The idea of using something without the seam ripper blade is a good one, and idea of cutting the bobbin thread every six stitches or so also sounds quicker than what I've been doing.

Yes, we all make mistakes. It takes a few seconds to stitch a beautiful curved pattern of 6-10" in length - and then discover that I did it wrong! So I am curious, if you're willing to share, how you rip out those few whorls or feathers or curves when you have to do it again. I'm not at all confident that my method is best, but here's what I do: - end the line wherever I am - pull up the bobbin thread and then cut both threads with about a 2" tail. - repeat: . pull on the top thread to expose the next bobbin stitch or two . use the point of a seam ripper to pull that exposed bobbin thread up to the top (without cutting it) - when I've pulled out what I want, then I cut the threads close and restart new stitches overlapping the old stitches to lock them in place This works okay when the stitches are even, but it gets rather hard when there is a tight turn or when the stitches are on top of each other. A few seconds to stitch it, and several minutes to unstitch it. Is there a quicker way that's still safe for the material?

Sorry to take so long answering; I've been off on a business trip. When I float a quilt, I use these metal spring clamps to hold the near edge. Got the idea from Angela Huffman when I took her startup lessons. But to be honest, I usually prefer to fasten the quilt to the top roller rather than floating it. That helps me to keep the edges straight and the same width. I only float it when it's a quick little project like these.

What wonderful stories, Sharon. And the Farmer's Wife is really beautiful. Something about red, white, and black in the right proportions just speaks warmth to me. (But it also sounds as though there is a lot of family thievery going on there...)

"not creative," Libby?! Good heavens. What a marvelous idea, to quilt backgrounds to look like the animals' homes!

Been doing some small, simple stuff that I thought I'd share. This first one is a charity quilt kit that Beth got from an organization, to return for their distribution. I like the bold colors in it. It's been sitting around waaaaay too long, so I popped it onto Lucius to play a bit. I did a nice "falling leaves" pantograph in the center and then a free-hand cable-like pattern in the borders. Fun to just create a border! Now to finally send it back... Two years ago, right after getting Lucius, I did a panel baby quilt like this for a friend. Now another friend has just had twins, and I discovered that my resourceful wife had actually bought FOUR of these panels for her stash! So we pulled out two more of them and did contrasting backing and border flanges for the twins. I was also really sneaky and loaded both baby quilts onto Lucius at the same time! The panto is one that I created for that first quilt, so I lengthened it and just ran it all the way across both quilts. (Well, I had to adjust the laser between the quilts to keep the lions and elephants from being cut by the edges.) More fun. Keep stitching, everyone!

I love how you turned negative white space into something that truly enhances the design!

Right indeed. I hate doing the hand work, but I do it to finish Beth's quilts; they'd never get done otherwise, because she dislikes the hand work even more than I do! This binding is pretty easy. Create TWO binding strips, length of quilt border, one strip at 1-1/4" width (main color) and the other at 1-3/4" (flange color). Sew them together lengthwise to create a binding strip at 2-1/2" width. When you fold/iron it in half lengthwise, the flange color will stick out 1/4" past the main color. Sew it to the BACK of the quilt first (main color against the quilt back), doing corners and end joins as you normally would do for any binding. Then when you fold it around to the front, do the final sewing from the front in the ditch of the flange/main seam, aligning it so that the same stitching is in the ditch on the back. (Yes, this part is a bit tricky to keep lined up.) For that final sewing, use top thread matching the flange color and bobbin thread matching the quilt back. Or, follow the pics in this blog. She uses a different width for the main fabric and ends up with a smaller flange. https://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com/2015/01/flanged-binding-tutorial.html

Sorry to be so long answering. It's been a busy two months in the RV. The center is 39"x51". BTW to all, my daughter Carla is doing very well. She even ran in the Disney half-marathon a month after her surgery! The doctors still say they got all the cancer.

Excellent work, Dell. It warms my heart to see some good Christian quilts. I think I saw this one on FB, too. Did you post it in RV Quilters there?

Love them both. Very different styles, but both are fantastic. Congratulations on the ribbons. Will Henry and Ellie live together now?

I like the way that the appliqué pops out from the background McT. Very nice work.

Very nice, and amazing choice of colors!

The first two are such busy fabrics that the quilting is really just there to hold the sandwich together - but I really like your choice of the triangle quilting patterns with the triangle piecing on the grey one! (I'm always a bit disappointed after quilting a quilt with busy fabrics, because all my work doesn't show very much...)

Sometime last year, this forum added two different ways to approve of a post: "Like" or "Upvote". Can someone please tell me what's the difference?