"...men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."
- Charles Dickens from A Christmas Carol
- Charles Dickens from A Christmas Carol
Hooray! CCII is done and dusted. And yes, I lifted that phrase straight from Kaja. Alliteration somehow sounds even more complete; every i dotted, every t crossed. Spic and span. Hmm. Could this be the reason comic book characters have alliterative names? Pepper Potts, Peter Parker, Lois Lane, Beetle Bailey. But I digress.
 |
| Chinese Coins II quilt |
The pennants on the border are free motion echo quilted. Not perfect but I'm pleased with the result and it was much easier than turning the quilt while using a walking foot. After a few, I developed a rhythm - a bit slower is better. If I can just remember it.
 |
| Free motion echo quilting |
Here's a view of the quilted borders. The purple diamonds have an orange peel design with a central eyes. The pastel triangles on either side are simple waves in matching threads. The pennants have a serendipitous V design; I simply didn't want to repeatedly stitch-in-the-ditch in order to move from one echo to the next. And the white background is a basic feather.
 |
| Free motion echo and feather quilting |
Why did I worry about using different threads? Here's the same area I took a photo of previously. Thread is barely visible. {Again, I point out my blog's name - Fret Not Yourself - as a personal reminder to stop the handwringing.}
 |
| View of the back and binding of Chinese Coins II |
Another area of the back looks like this. I see some parallel quilting lines but only the merest hints of anything else.
 |
| Another view of the back and binding of Chinese Coins II |
These loops are fast becoming a favorite. Libby Lehman used to say everyone has a signature quilting design, something that comes easy to them. Hers was random loops. I used to think mine was spirals but this ribbon of loops are also moving up in my ranking. {I'll also point out we can learn new styles. Baptist Fans used to be disastrous but mine look fairly good these days.}
 |
| Loop quilting in the sashing of Chinese Coin II quilt |
The loops, feathers, and echo quilting also appeared in my Spiderweb quilt... in corresponding places. Do I now have a personally identifiable style?
The binding is a bright blue bandana print. I wouldn't have chosen it from my stash but found it in the binding bin and think it's a perfect edge. Almost enough for the entire quilt.
 |
| Chinese Coin II quilt binding, quilting, backing |
 |
| Scrappy back of Chinese Coins II quilt |
Everyone needs deadlines. - Walt Disney
Truer word were never spoken. The deadline that kicked me into gear? Not New Year's resolutions. Next month I'm demonstrating Chinese Coins to my quilt guild. Ever since I agreed to present I've been wondering what I have to show. Most of my Coin quilts are given away. Examples on hand would help. How's that for a motive?
1. Collecting Coins
2. Arranging Coins
3. Revisiting Chinese Coins II
4. Sashing Chinese Coins II
5. Sashing Sewn
6. Retrospective to Date
7. Inner Border
8. Starting the Outer Border
9. Working on the Outer Border
10. Outer Border Choices
11. Outer Border Sewn
12. Quilting in progress
Wow. So many posts. I'd forgotten how long I've been working on the quilt. Some come together quickly, some slowly, and some are as slow as molasses in January... like this one. But it's worth the wait. I quite like it; warts and all. It's headed to a wonderful home after the demo.
Quilt Details
Size: 84"" x 78"
Design: Chinese Coins
Batting: Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon100% cotton
Thread: blue Aurifil Mako 50/2 cotton , YLI nylon monofilament, pink and purple Metler fine embroidery cotton, green Superior cotton, white Guterman cotton
Quilting: walking foot SID; freemotion lines, loops, spirals, stars and feathers
The Movie That Almost Got Away
Somehow we missed The Man Who Invented Christmas {check the trailers and snippets on this site} in December but fortunately found it at the dollar shows in north Dallas. We all went for a belated Christmas treat. And what a treat it was! Beautifully staged, costumed, and acted. DIL noticed Dan Stevens, her hero from Beauty and the Beast, played Charles Dickens. I noticed Christopher Plummer, my hero from Sound of Music, played Scrooge. Bharat Nalluri directed this film as well as another of my favorites, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. I'm buying a copy as soon as one becomes available.
Enjoy the day, Ann