Tuesday, October 19, 2010

quilting up a storm with my moda jelly roll.


My sewing machine hasn’t seen a lot of love from me lately. The last time I used it was back in May when I took the machine quilting class at the Oakville Sewing Centre (shame on me for not practicing and probably forgetting all the good stuff I learned). I can tell that was the last time because my quilting foot was still attached to my machine!  I’ve been working away on my now belated birthday quilt for Jennifer, but that involves hand quilting, which goes sloooooooooowly (painfully so). I clearly needed to sit down and plow through some chain piecing. Cut, pin, sew, iron, cut, pin, sew, iron…the process is very repetitive and I find it completely relaxing.

The hamster running laps in my head has been busy and this leads to lots and lots of quilting.  The pattern I'm using - "Braided Links" from the "Jelly Roll Quilts & More" by Kimberly Einmo is a really good one for me to be working on as it's in my wheel house from a skill perspective, so I'm not stressed about having to figure anything new out. 
This is what the blocks look like before the quilt is assembled
My mind gets quiet.
Everything that was bouncing in my brain settles down.
Things make sense.
All is calm (for a few hours).
I love the way the blocks come together - the darks and lights really work!
The feel of the modern textiles under my fingers, admiring how the beautiful fabrics complement each other as the blocks grow, it’s a form of meditation. I suspect only another quilter would understand. At the end of an evening of quilting, I find that the things that were troubling me before don’t seem so big. My body is tired and ready to sleep. My soul is happy to see the beautiful art I have created from nothing.
I sense a few weeks of heavy quilting are in front of me.  Here is the completed quilt top using the moda jelly roll origins by basic grey. Back to the Oakville Sewing Centre tonight to pick up backing fabric and binding.  This may be the fastest quilt I've ever completed to date!  Hopefully  Kimberly Einmo will stop back to see how her pattern turned out!
This reminds me of flying over Iowa - a landscape of farmer's fields.


12 comments:

  1. It's beautiful! Having a hobby to quiet the racing mind is good and healthy! Kudos to you for finding something you love, that centres you so well.

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  2. This quilt is gorgeous. I love the colour combination. Great work Kat.

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  3. Beautiful quilt Kat! Hint: On a back corner of the quilt, add a 3x3 square using a fabric from the front and write or sew your name & year completed.

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  4. I'm back -- and absolutely THRILLED with how beautifully your quilt turned out. In fact, seeing those scrumptuous fabrics prompted me to run to my local quilt shop and BUY 2 Layer Cakes and additional yardage from the Origins Line by Moda to make a NEW quilt design for the next book! Thank you so much for your kind words about my book and pattern (Braided Links.) You have no idea how much it truly made my day. I'll be blogging about YOU on my blog and linking back to here. Thanks again for sharing! :-)

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  5. Hey there! Kimberly sent me. Boy do I like the fabric you chose for your braided links. Don't you just love how fast that pattern goes together? Patterns from that book can be really addictive!

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  6. Kimberly!! So glad you like how it turned out. I love combining modern fabrics with traditional style patterns and seeing how they turn out. This quilt came together for me in 2 nights - once I got close to the end I couldn't stop because I wanted to see how it would look. I can't wait to see your new book. Let me know if you want me to review it and whip up some of the patterns in conjunction with your launch!

    Pat - I couldn't agree more - it's hard to go back to all that cutting when such nice patterns and precut fabrics are out there just asking to be quilted. ;-)

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  7. Hi
    Kimberly sent me !! I like very much the colours of the quilt !!and of course as Kimberly is a friend of mine, I love evrything from her book !

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  8. Kat, I just LOVE how the Origins line of fabric makes this pattern sing! You did a wonderful job! I have always wanted to add an Origins jelly roll to my stay - I'll better do that immediately.
    BTW, I'm here because Kimberly posted the link on her blog. And I'm the one who had the pleasure of piecing (and quilting) the original book quilt - and that sure was tons of fun!
    Make sure to share pictures of your beautiful top once it's quilted!

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  9. Hi! Kimberly sent me too! You have done a wonderful job on your quilt top! I love the colors! Isn't it sew fun? And Kimberly's designs are the best! I've made 4 of her quilts so far! They are my favs!
    LynnEl in Illinois

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  10. Anonymous12:23 p.m.

    Greetings from Paducah. Kimberly sent me, too.

    Your quilt looks great!

    Linda

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  11. Hi! Kimberly sent me - I took several classes from her at the AQS in Des Moines in early October and have her Jelly Roll Book and love it and her! I love your quilt but also love your postings about your son with autism. My son Trey is 15 now and we have known since he was between 1 and 2 that he was autistic. He is a wonderful, sweet, mostly happy boy but we have been through a lot. Being a teen has been a little more difficult but there are always improvements too. I am going to start following you since we have at least 2 things in common and I will probably find out more!
    Jodi Sellers

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  12. I found your blog by Kimberly E.
    I love the jelly roll quilt top.
    Cindy

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