fabricologist

fabricologist

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

A Tale That Will Make You Swoon

Let's go back in time, shall we?  About a year ago, Katy, at I'm a Ginger Monkey was hosting a Swoon Along for all interested quilters to make Camille's Swoon quilt pattern.  I loved it and bought the pattern and made my first block.  Challenging, but not too tough.  Okay, I can do this.

I did some quick calculating and decided that if I only did one block a week, in nine weeks they would be done.  Yeah...that so didn't happen.  I don't know how long it took, but I did finally get it all put together.  Then, I had to stop for Christmas sewing.  Yes, that's right 11 months later.

January I bought batting and pin basted.  I had decided to quilt it myself.  What was I thinking???  I was thinking I couldn't afford to send it out, even if it was 91 inches square.  So this is what I did to set up:

 I got a pair of gloves.  These came from the Traveling Stash box.  I have never used gloves before, but you can bet I am a fan of them now.  And yes, this poor little Bernina is what I quilted on.
 It slides on my desk, so I put pieces of foam cabinet liner under the four feet.  Worked like a charm.
 I had to duct tape the extended top in place.  It's the one thing that isn't made very well on the Bernina.  The plastic "clips" that held it in place broke off a long time back.  If you are doing any free motion quilting, it moves and falls off.  Bad news!
And I put on my knee pedal to lift the presser foot so my hands would be free to wrestle the quilt.  There is the roll of duct tape down there.

So I began...I cursed...out loud...a lot.  This was harder than hard.  I had to make myself go in there and work on it to keep moving forward.  I think it took me 3 1/2 weeks.  Finally, Sunday last, it was done.

 Here is the binding, all pressed and ready to sew...I had no fabric for the binding, so I went on Etsy and found the checked red from the Reunion line which I thought was just perfect.

 This is how I wind it to attach it.  I put it on an empty spool and let it feed off of that.  I don't use pins. Gasp!!

 And here it is in all its Swooning glory.  Quilted, bound, washed and crinkled.  It is so soft and nice.



 Here is the back. I decided to use big blocks of the rest of the fabric line and I am so glad I did.  I love the way it looks.
                            See how nice the red checks are as a binding?
 This is my last label from the first set I bought over a year ago.  I just ordered some more and I changed it just a wee bit to a script font.
 If you look where the grey and the green meet you can see some of my quilting stitches that are not very in the ditch.  That happened a lot when I was trying to subdue the quilt to pass it under the needle.
I quilted around each star and a bit of straight line quilting coming from the corners.  Very minimal, but about all I could manage.  Will I ever do this again?  Nope, nada,  nunca, huh uh!!!  But I do love my Swoon Quilt!  Thanks for reading this far.
Talk to you again soon.





18 comments:

IHaveANotion ~ Kelly Jackson said...

What a beautiful quilt! I love the fabrics and the binding is just the ticket :) I'm with you when it comes to quilting on a home machine, it isn't easy.

If your Bernina table broke off have you checked your warranty? Perhaps it is covered. If not, maybe a Sew Steady Table to put on the machine will give it a nice sturdy bed. I have one for each of my Bernina machines.

Smiles,
Kelly

Allison said...

your quilt looks great, and that really is just about the best binding fabric ever!

Dee said...

This is just perfect...because you put so much of yourself into it! I love quilts like this! And, you have one up on me...my Swoon still isn't done! Congratulations!

randi--i have to say said...

This is just beautiful! Perfect fabrics and colors!

Outback Crafter - Debra said...

Your swoon is swoonworthy. Thank you for sharing. You have reminded me to go and get mine out.

Celtic Thistle said...

Your quilt is lovely Charlotte, the binding sets it off perfectly and your label is so neat!

Denise in PA said...

It looks great! And the binding was a fantastic choice! Would you believe I pulled out my Swoon last night to work on the last block - and I started mine around the same time you did! I, too, was going to do one block a week - i never even made it to one block per month - LOL!

charlotte said...

I have one of those on my wish list, Kelly.

charlotte said...

Thank you so much. I do love it. I can't stop looking at it.

charlotte said...

You will get there Dee. Thanks for stopping by.

charlotte said...

Keep plugging away. I don't know how anyone gets done with it so quickly.

charlotte said...

Thank you. I am happy you stopped by. I appreciate your kind comments.

charlotte said...

I am proof you can finish it Denise. DO NOT quilt it on a small machine. Can't wait to see yours done too!

charlotte said...

Aw, thanks. I am glad you came by.

Susan said...

Charlie, love how the swoon Quilt turned out. It is simply beautiful!!

Nita said...

That is a fabulous idea of using an empty spool to hold your binding!!! I don't pin binding, either. I throw it behind me and feed it from over my shoulder. Works fine.

InGa said...

I really liked your quilt. The binding is just perfect, and colours melt so nicely together.
Recognice your quilting situation, I just did the same with my Trip around the world. ... It's scary, and hard, but I will do it again!! It's ALL yours then, and not a part of another quilter's as well. :-)
Thanks for the story.
Regards Ingrid

Carla said...

Charlotte, Your Swoon makes me swoon! I have gotten as far as buying the pattern so you have me beat no matter how long you took!