Well Basted; Finally Finished

This quilt was basted two years ago. At that time the sashing was SID but I never could decide how to quilt it. Finally I hung it neatly alongside some tops where it remained until this week. Enough! Propellers turn so they make spiraling air currents and that's a good enough design.

The more I fret about quilting, the more I try to "match" it to the fabric prints. So I considered tracing those large circles, small daisies, and wavy lines. Too constrained. Too many thread changes. The spiral looks cleaner and more effective.

Propeller baby quilt

The only problem was the center of the spiral. It's very hard to turn the quilt smoothly in such a tiny radius. I have used FMQ in the center and switched to the walking foot when the circle was larger but it's hard to enough keep the spacing the same with one foot. It's almost impossible with two different feet. Marking a spiral wasn't a good option this time because my marking pens blended into the print.

Original spiral quilting
in the center is not well aligned

I resewed it by simply following the printed design of the center. The spiraling starts at the edge of the center circle. The lines still have some irregularities but those are much less obvious.

Center is quilted by following
the print with a walking foot

Then I pulled fabric for the binding. Lots and lots of fabrics. Red, blue, light blue, grey, white, striped. You name it; I tried it. Most were too harsh. The pale grey striped border called for a light- colored binding. Here are three of my final ideas. The black at the bottom made a very severe line as did all those strong blues and reds. I liked the grey and yellow but preferred the soft blue with orange-red flowers... even though it looks like a 30's reproduction print. It ties to the center better.

Binding choices for Propeller baby quilt

The back is a soft twill-like weave in baby pink that was a bit wider than normal so it didn't need piecing. I wish I knew the name of the weave. It drapes beautifully; not a bit stiff like my idea of twill.

Binding detail of Propeller baby quilt

One more detail photo. Without realizing it,  Propeller baby quilt is a small exercise in scale change, too. Woo-hoo; invitation met - even if it is a bit late.

Propeller baby quilt detail

Previous posts:

1. Leftover blocks
2. Designing the top
3. Basted and ready to quilt

Quilt Details
Size: 44" x 44"
Designs: Airplane Propellers and Flying Geese
Batting: Mountain Mist 100% cotton
Thread: Gutterman 50 wt cotton, grey on front, pink on back
Quilting: SID and Spiral with walking foot

Enjoy the day, Ann

Ready to Quilt

Propeller Baby Quilt
Final decision for the posts is slightly larger circles. Previously they were the same size as the propeller centers which was too small. As Robin wrote, eye movement stops there. I also tried circles large enough to touch the geese but that was too far. {And I forgot to snap a photo.}

Also the bright red colors on white were too strong. The new reddish print is darker, subtler, and {perhaps}mimics the angles of the flying geese. The off-white background matches the propeller backgrounds better and tones things down.

Until now I hadn't considered a pale blue grey. That might have looked good. {Back to my old "rushing" habits although I have paused several times constructing this quilt. What is the right balance between forward movement and thoughtful pauses? I haven't found it yet.}

The red and orange fabrics of the geese repeat in several places. I also paired them to emphasize flight.

Start Your Engines quilt is pin basted

There's a two-inch border around the outside in a soft grey/white stripe. Somehow this quilt wanted to float a bit. If if doesn't work after it's quilted it can be cut off.

Check out Mel's post at Piece, Love & Happiness to see some flying geese with more movement.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science
My niece took me to the Perot Museum recently. Although it opened more than a decade ago I've never been. What a treat I've missed until now.

Quite a collection of minerals including this 1.25 ton amethyst geode. There were rooms of weather, astronomy, and of course, energy. After all, this is Texas.

1.25 ton amethyst geode and a tornado machine

Did you know central North America from the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson Bay was under the Western Interior Seaway during the Cretaceous?  The Perot staged a striking display of several including this Fiat-sized Protostega swimming above a bus-sized Tylosaurus.

Protostega and Tylosaurus, late Cretaceous (80-79 mya) from Rockwall Co.

This Dallasaurus is the link connecting the evolution of aquatic mosasaurs like the Tylosaurus to terrestrial monitor lizards. It's always interesting to see fins turn into feet and vice versa. Did you know residual hand bones still exist in whale fins?

Dallasaurus fossil swims above a monitor lizard skeleton

This guy is an Alamosaurus. With a name like that, how could I not include a photo?  The cast is made of bones from several of this species. You can see the real fossilized neck behind him near the bottom. It's the only set of articulated vertebrae from this dinosaur. Fossil pieces that large are too heavy to mount; that's why museums must make casts. These bones were found is such a remote location of Big Bend they had to be helicoptered out. I took one of my field work courses there so it always has a special place in my heart.

Alamosaurus sanjuanensis cast mounted at Perot Museum

On the way out we saw this message carved on a bench.

Bench at the Perot Museum in Dallas

Dinner anyone?

Enjoy the day, Ann

It's a Bird, It's a Plane

Propeller Baby Quilt
Flying geese complement the airplanes. Their dark background contrasts nicely with the light background of the propellers.

Propeller baby quilt with flying geese sashing

But what to do for the posts? What about circular designs already printed on a dark blue fabric? Too dark.

Another post possibility for Start Your Engines quilt

These small red circles are blocks I still haven't put together from Audrey's Quilty 365. They look like the Japanese flag but seem a bit small against the blues.

One post possibility for Start Your Engines quilt

That blue fabric that didn't work for posts also doesn't work on the border. It's enclosing the quilt too much for me. A lighter border might work better.

A bit more thinking and I'll have the right choices.

Dia de Muertos and Coco
We took my family to see Pixar's new movie, Coco, after Thanksgiving. Craft in America's episode, Neighbors, played recently and was amazingly pertinent to my recent trips and the movie. By comparing Dia de Muertos celebrations and art in LA and Oaxaca, Mexico, it increased my understanding of the festival and enjoyment of the movie. Then the show segued to weaving and dyeing. Turns out those cochineal dyes in 19th c. British uniforms come from a scale insect that lives on prickly pear cactus. After silver, the dye was the most important export in the 15th and 16th centuries. Mexico lost its monopoly on cochineal dyes after their Independence. Development of synthetic dyes almost caused the demise of the industry but it resurges today as people realize many of the synthetics are carcinogenic. Shades from pink to scarlet to dark red are created by varying the original yards and the time and temperature of the dye baths.

When Alamo Drafthouse plays a movie they include a special menu reflecting the show's theme. For Coco that included quesadillas and a butternut squash milkshake.

Alamo Drafthouse guitar-shaped menu for Coco screening.

Although my first reaction was that I'd never thought of squash as a dessert, I do have a recipe for zucchini pie. When chopped zucchini rests with sugar it releases lots of liquid just like apples. Although I liked this in the '70s, it's way too sweet now. Perhaps I'll combine it with apples and reduce the sugar. Ha. Just in time for the holidays.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Start Your Engines

There are plenty of quilts at my house, all the Great Debaters have been gifted, but I have a never-ending need for baby and toddler quilts. Usually these are made from project leftovers and scraps because it keeps the fabric moving. I rarely tell the mothers because non-quilters don't understand the modern usage of 'scrap.' Frequently they think it's used fabric... or that you found it on the roadside rather than paying good money for it.

Here are the leftovers from Propellers and Planes. "Oh, look, Sally. Look, look." {Who remembers Dick and Jane?} Enough for a baby quilt.

I tried an asymmetrical layout but it just doesn't speak to me.

UIKEYINPUTDOWNARROWPossible layout for Propeller quilt

Here's the way I like it best.

Final layout for Propeller blocks

Now to find some sashing fabric.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Final Tour: Propellers and Planes with a List of Previous Posts

Propellers and Planes, my Steam Punk, hung in our guild show this week along with many fabulous quilts by members of SCVQA and BAM. It's the first, and probably only, photo of the entire quilt. The colors aren't quite right; they are much truer in the previous posts, but at least you can see the entire layout of the quilt.

Propellers and Planes quilt

Here it is again in lighting that shows the colors better. But it's not hung high enough. This really is a softly colored quilt with small bits of bright fabrics on occasion.

Propellers and Planes quilt

There is a huge variety of fabrics in this quilt. The oldest was purchased in Boston about twenty-five years ago. The newest were purchased last year. Sue Benner gave me one of her hand-dyed pieces. After being saved (and petted) for more than a decade I used it here. There are scraps from quilts I made for my children, my new daughter-in-law, my parents and my dear friends. Some, like the 50's mannequins, simply make me laugh. All bring back memories of people and places I know and love. Now we sleep under it. What great good fortune. I wish everyone could wrap themselves in cherished memories every night.

A collage of some of the fabrics incorporated in Propellers and Planes

Not wanting to piece batts, I looked for a really large cotton one. There were not many choices but Pellon (yes, the interfacing company) makes one. It's 100% cotton with a very flat, almost felt-like appearance that reminded me of Warm and Natural. It is also warm, heavy and has a beautiful drape - think brocade. It would be a great choice for a wall quilt. Unfortunately, it was only 120" in one direction and I had to piece about four inches of batt in the other direction. Grr.

I used YLI invisible thread (nylon monofilament) for ditch stitching along the sashing then switched to Aurifil Mako 50/2 in grey and light green for the rest of the quilting.

Here are links to previous posts.

Steam Punk Blocks, February 2014
Second Set, March 2014
Third Set, June 2014
Fourth Set, July 2014
Fifth Set with Construction Notes, July 2014
Final Set, July 2014
Putting Steam Punk Together with Sashing Notes, August 2014
Where Do You Get Your Ideas, August 2014
Steam Punk Back, August 2014
Enlarging Circular Blocks (How I Made the Large Propellers), December 2014
Quilting Steam Punk, January 2015
More Quilting, January 2015
Binding, February 2015
Quilt Show Ready, February 2015

Wow. A year of work and fifteen posts. I like to read about your processes and hope you like this much information, too.

Enjoy the day, Ann