WIP Wednesday

WIP (work in progress) completed. I think that is supposed to be a quilting acronym, but it does kind of apply here... I did shorten them... so a sewing machine did come into play.
I bought curtains a while back with the hope that I could get them put up sometime in the near future.  There is a big significance to say up... as these needed to go WAY UP.  I had my sturdy ladder holder in place.  He kept my ladder securely in place and handed me the tools I needed to get the job done.  The ceiling is 18.5 feet up, so it was no small feat.  Definitely a team effort. You know you are up there when the ladder you are on kind of waves in the middle as you climb, and you are real happy that you have someone holding it in place. I was also very pleased with the decision to buy pressure rods that do not require any hardware to be screwed to the wall.  A side note here, I was able to get rid of some cobwebs while I was up there. I am sure one day I might have gotten around to finding a way to get rid of these cobwebs, but considering where they were, it was unlikely anyone would have noticed them... unless I brought their attention to them.

The curtains were not really necessary.  No one can see in up there.  There is hardly any change in the light coming in as these curtains are pretty sheer.  It does feel more homey now.  I have to be honest... it was not my idea to begin with.  Ron said a few times that we needed to do something with those windows that looked like plain old square openings up there... so after he brought my attention to them, I kind of agreed and bought some curtains, then the rods... then we had to wait for the right moment for both of us to feel like dealing with the ladder thing.

 Job done and we are both quite pleased with the new look.

 I'm not sure about this quilt project that was intended for the stairway half wall.  I thought it would be cool to make a quilt in the shape of a triangle.  A dear friend gave me the panel with the butterflies and I discovered X-blocks a few weeks ago.  I began to run into issues when I pinned it up on the wall to find my angle does not match the stairway.  At first I thought it was the blocks that were pulling the triangle out of square.  I tried to compensate with the added tan wedge shaped border, the tan is actually leftover pieces from the original panel.  I embroidered Romans 12:2 on this border... hard to see, but it is there. The wedge made minimal difference.  That is when Ron got out his square and pointed out that if the stairway was at a 45 degree angle, it would be very steep.  In other words, there is no way this quilt could ever match the stairway without lots of calculating.  So right now, I think I am going to finish it as is... then search for a solution for hanging it once it is done.  Never saw a quilt hung on an angle before. 
Oh well, we shall see if I complete this one.

Balancing Act

I started prepping a quilt to be put on my quilting frame.  The quilt I began with this morning belongs to a friend, which I had reluctantly let her slip the quilt in my queue a couple weeks ago.  You know how exceptions go... please, please, please, just this one.  I had made the announcement at my quilt meeting that I would not be doing anyone's quilt besides my own until September.  I had finished piecing the backing to make it wide enough, and before I sewed it onto the leaders, I went out to my studio to see what color thread I would use.  Well the blue I thought I had was not to be found.  I'm not sure if it is hiding, or I just do not have any appropriate blue left... Big PLUS... I have to order thread.  That means I can put one of my own quilt tops on my frame.  That is major.  It has been a while since I have had one of my own quilts on my frame.

The quilt that I have now prepped of my own is called Balancing Act and it was featured in the April 2009 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. There were so many colors involved in this quilt that I opted to purchase the kit.  I pieced this quilt when I was at our cabin in Colorado early last summer.  I found the backing I was going to use in September, also while back out  in Colorado.  The big wait has been a time issue.  The outdoor pictures were taken in back of our cabin.