Friday, May 18, 2007

I'm no longer terrified

of doing diagonal lines on the longarm! Admittedly, they are far from perfect -- there's a few wobbles and sometimes I missed the chalked line, but not so badly that I feel obligated to frog stitch it! It definitely takes coordination -- you need to hold the straight edge with one hand and move the machine with the other along the straight edge -- without pushing against it so hard that you move the straight edge. Once you establish a rhythm though, it works pretty good.
I worked this morning for an hour and a half, then took a 2 hour break to take JR to the vet for his yearly shots, then came home and worked another hour. All I accomplished was crosshatching the two outer borders on one side. But, I'm pleased with it and myself. I happen to love this quilt and I'm keeping it for myself, so once I wash it, the crosshatching will look pretty good I think. The center of the quilt will get "x's" quilted into the background rectangles and then I'll decide if the colored ones need anything and whether there's enough quilting in the center to even out the borders. I'm actually following the recommendation of the pattern itself, so we'll see. The pattern, btw, is Pressed Memories by Kansas Troubles Quilters. I've had the top done for a number of years, so I'm excited to finish it.
Gratitudes:
We did not have frost last night, although the official temp did reach 39°.
Bill's pretty miserable with a cold, but at least he's spending his time in the recliner instead of trying to do anything strenuous.
JR did really well at the Vet's -- the new lady vet is terrific.
I'm really pleased with the longarm today.

7 comments :

Unknown said...

You're doing better than I am. I hate diagonal lines! Glad you're getting them down.

Doodlebug Gail said...

Something about a simple grid makes a quilt look so good. Great job. Please do show a photo of the whole quilt once you've finished the quilting.

Anonymous said...

Great cross-hatching - I still have the first quilt I did CH on and, now months later, I can't find all of the areas that bothered me the day I did it! Put it away for a month and then you will be amazed at the beautiful job you did!

Quilts And Pieces said...

I love simple grids but can't find anyone who will do them on the longarm! You Go! It is going to be wonderful!

Shelina said...

I can see why you would want to keep this quilt - it is beautiful. I just love the warm colors you've used. It is one of my favorite color schemes.

Silverthimble said...

I am impressed! Diagonal lines with just a ruler! Well done! I can only manage diagonal lines with my CL template.

Patti said...

Your cross hatching looks great! Isn't it funny how the things that are the easiest to do with a domestic machine are the hardest to do with a longarm!