Wow, this took some doing! :-) I decided I wanted to design and make a quilt for my grandson (who is now 16) in an adult size that would reflect his love of animals, and also use his favorite color turquoise. I started this quilt in Tucson at least six months before we moved. I started the applique sections and pretty much finished them, then I had to give up and pack it away as we prepared for the move. Of course, moving in was as time-consuming and difficult once we got here, and I didn't drag the quilt out to work on it till months after our arrival. I did the herringbone piecing sections, then added borders to make it a Queen size. But, now I had a problem...it is so big I knew I needed a good big table and some help to get the quilt sandwiched and ready for quilting, and this took me a few months to finally get accomplished. Once it was safety pinned to the batting and backing, I was overwhelmed by the aspect of quilting it on my machine, but I started slowly. Finally I finished quilting the center sections (not without some problems), and was able to start quilting the herringbone sections, which was a breeze. But once I started working on free-motion quilting on the borders, I started having problems with my thread feed. That was a battle! I took the machine to the shop and had it cleaned, oiled and adjusted (another two month wait) and then went at it again. Overall, what I had wanted to give my grandson over a year ago, he will finally receive....better late than never! :-) I'm glad it's done! He has seen it, and loves it, so that makes me happy!
The lake and the animals in and around it are all machine appliqued...
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| The frog in the water was the first "critter" I made |
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| Do you see the lizard? |
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| There's an osprey with a fish flying overhead. Turtles on the rocks are watching it and the fabric-painted clouds. I did do a little bit of fabric painting on the center panel also. |
