Done: Dad's Biggest Zig

Finished and right on time: it was my Dad's birthday on Saturday and I managed to finish the quilt on that day ... it was so sweet to see that he really loved receiving this gift.



And I am ever so pleased with it too. The pattern works well, the quilting looks great and is quite even. I love the back with the scrappy element. It has to be said, however, that I still suck at planning a project, see my fretting over a potential border ...

Almost finished: Dad's Biggest Zig

I've been having such a good time with the finishing of the project, adding a few rows, sandwiching and quilting it ...:






Top: Hate it - OK, that's better - onto the backing (too short)
2: Taping it down - "Butter" - "Jelly"
3: Pins, pins, more pins - Sandwich, "jelly down" - Quilting
4: Details - We were a blouse once - Career Change: binding

PS: Notice how there is no border? Yup, it got dropped ...

Progress

I am very happy with my progress on the Big Zig quilt. With wadding on the way from my favourite quilt shopkeeper, it's time for me to crack on and finish this one:



Now that I decided on the border, there's only the batting to fret about and I might consider a pieced back but am not entirely sure yet. Another thing to ponder is the quilting. I'm not very seasoned at free motion / stippling and zigging along the zigzags may be a good way to accentuate the pattern.

Ok, off to the sewing machine!

Auditioning Borders ...

Given that I never really "plan" a quilt, I oftentimes come to a point where I feel the assembled top is too small. This one's currently 100 X 140 cm which strikes me as a bit twee for a grown man's lap / nap quilt.

I wondered wether I could remedy this by adding borders but that's a bit tricky given the bold pattern. My initial thought was to first add a solid border and then squares the same height as the zigs.


Hm ... not happy with that .... too blocky-bold-weird ... so off to Flickr I went and came across this:


Originally uploaded by Ms Alleycat
Hence the new action plan: Add as many blocks as the dark blue scraps will allow, then add borders similar in style to those shown by the smart Ms Alleycat!

Now off to order wadding!

"Two-Timing"

With two quilts due in April, I find myself going back and forth between projects, which I am quite enjoying. The top one has been in the works for about two years and by the looks of it I took my merry time. It's a simple hand quilt job and perfect for my Stitch'n'Bitch or evenings on the sofa in front of the telly.

The other one is shaping up nicely too ...



I finished auditioning blocks for the bottom two rows (with what is now the bottom row moving up and the other one moving down ...) so the top should be finished by the end of next week. That leaves me time to ponder the quilting. While I would have liked some straight line quilting, I think that will distract from the zig-zag.

Details of stripes and shirts ...

I am making good progress with my big zig quilt and am particularly enarmoured with the stripes here ... I like that they are all going in the same direction, a minor detail, but I like it all the same.

Also, unlike previous projects, I have been diligently cutting to size and ironing as well.

Is this a good idea?

A while back, I started the assembly-line style production of blocks for AmandaJean's no-triangle-zig pattern by cutting long pieces of fabric, sewing them together, one solid, one patterned and then cutting them to size. This is working rather well.



But this time 'round, I'm using a fairly graphic stripey fabric and I am wondering whether I will need to alternate horizontal and vertical stripes ... we shall see!

Happily chopping away!

I am having good fun in my little cave aka sewing room, hacking fabric into pieces in order to turn this heap into something new!

On the chopping block

Isn't it great when sticking to a New Year's Resolution allows you to drag your heels? In the spirit of "more finishes", I have been avoiding cutting into the fabric selection for the as-yet-unnamed quilt.

It pays to have a think before you cut!

and in other news, water is wet!

My dad has been dropping hints as big as concrete bolders that he wants a quilt. It's actually really nice to be asked for such a personal and somewhat womanly gift by a definite alpha male. Now, the recipient is a physicist with a distinct taste for the no-frill. He's also very traditional in the sense that he appreciates heirlooms and such. But which pattern?

At first I pondered the Maths quilt pattern. But it's square and my dad is tall, making this a huge monster. Then I was clueless ... and finally I settled on a scrappy zig quilt.

So off I went to audition my blue fabric ...



... and found it all very bland ...



... only to find that I probably had enough of the darker blue solid:



... but then couldn't bring myself to start cutting. I dislike this step of the process, I find it fiddly and tiresome. Also I'm cheap when it comes to blades and that's not really helping either. And my cutting table was stacked mile-high with unfinished projects - see New Year's resolution: more finishes!

This turned out to be a good thing because my fabric selection is just this side of scrappy and I can use Amanda Jean's very nifty Zig Zag quilt without the pesky triangles tutorial. This will save me a lot of time and tediousness and I am quite pleased with myself, seeing how my procrastinating paid off.

That leaves me with so much more time to ponder a title.