My Quilt Calendar

I take a lot of pictures for this blog and for HubPages, and of course family pictures. I get the family pictures printed from an online store such as Snapfish or Shutterfly.  Once I get on the mailing lists, they will often send me offers to try out products or get something free.  Now, I have figured out that free isn't really free, since I do have to pay for shipping and handling, but it does bring the overall price down to a point where I, the thrifty shopper, will be willing to try it.

  Recently, I got an offer for a free calendar from Shutterfly.  I thought about what types pictures to use, and after much internal debate, I decided to do one for my quilts.  It is free, and there was a deadline.  I  probably wouldn't do one for my quilts if I had to pay a lot of money for it.  I thought about doing one with old  family pictures but I needed more time to get just right order, layout, etc.  Quilts would be much easier, since they could go on any page, and if I did something wrong in my haste, I was the only one who would have the right to complain to myself.  I thought about doing a UFO calendar, and work on the quilt on the month it is featured, and hopefully finish it then, but I thought that would be too much pressure.  I just want to enjoy my quilts, even the ones that aren't done.




 Ordering was easy, but it does take some time to choose the photos, decide what page they go on, etc.
There are several options for backgrounds - you choose a theme, and the whole calendar carries the same theme.  I chose one with quotes.  You can choose different layouts for each page depending on the number of photos, and can choose the font if you want to write something.    I tried to put the quilt photo that would look good on the background color.

It even lets you add birthdays and other important dates to really personalize the calendar. If you want, you can add photos on the birthdays, but I decided to leave the space free so I could really use the calendar.

unfinished quilts

Spool of thread on the floor

 I had some trouble loading the photos. The system told me it couldn't load some - maybe they were too big?, so I found more photos and added them one at a time, but then I went back and retried one I had already tried, and it worked fine.   I could have spent more time making sure they were tightly cropped, perfectly color matched, etc., but in the end I just found some random quilt photos and went with it.  I forgot some of the quilt names, and instead of looking them up, I made some up.  I was really at a loss for a quilt that I gave to a neighbor.  Really, Four Patch Star Mini? I'm sure it had a much better name than that.



I got it in the mail today and am so incredibly happy with it.  I have finished quilts, and lots of progress shots.  This type of calendar would be great for people who want to finish their UFOs.  Work on the quilt that is featured that month. There are a couple that have some clutter in the background, reminding me to clean as well!

These photos of the calendar were taken at an angle and it is dark outside, so the calendar doesn't look as good in these photos as it does in real life.

gifted quilt

The calendar is very professionally done - it was printed and sent quickly (I just ordered it last week), the paper is a great quality and the photos look great.  It makes me look like a real professional quilter instead of a hobbyist! And now that they have the important dates, they will be able to transfer them over to my next calendar without me having to retype them.

Daisy's Chickenpox

Having finished two small quilts, I felt it was time to tackle a UFO.  But the quilt I wanted to make was not one that was already started.  It was a kit I had purchased a while back. It must have been on sale for a really good price since I don't usually buy kits.   It is made with batik fabrics. The kit included all the batik and other fun fabric for the daisies, but we had to buy the fabric for the background and the border (and of course the backing). Since I had recently become a Bag Lady at the quilt shop and would get a free fat quarter every time I visited the shop, I decided to get the remaining fabric one fat quarter at a time.  This delayed the time I could actually start the quilt.  I was looking for dotted background fabric, so there was a short delay until there was a new dotted fat quarter. The background was supposed to be light green and dark green, but I decided to expand to yellow so I wouldn't have to wait for light green dots. By the time I had enough fabric, I was too busy or had started another project or something.

I have often wanted to finish this quilt (and another batik quilt kit) so that I could get a chance to play with the leftover batiks.  This was my only source of batiks (aside from buying more).  Eventually I did buy more fabric and the two batik kits stayed in the back of the closet.

Now, even though I felt I should finish something that is already started, I decided to make this quilt while I was excited about making it.  After all, my brother wouldn't know what to do with a kit anymore than he would know what to do with a UFO.  I do plan to finish what I start so I don't create new UFOs.

Anyway there are only 16 blocks in this quilt.  When I whined about having to cut the weird shaped background fabric, I could tell myself I only have to do it 16 times.  It turned out that cutting those weird shapes wasn't a big deal at all, and it was actually fun to do curved seams again. Same with fusing and cutting the daisies.

This quilt is not a cheap one to make, since there is fusible behind all of the pieces of the flower.  There is the background daisy, a smaller inner daisy, and then the center circle.  The inner daisy is doublesided (two pieces of daisies with a fusible between) so that it can be left free for a three dimensional look. I was able to get yards of fusible for a really good price on Black Friday so now I have fusible for another quilt as well.

I secured the daisy on the background using a flower stitch on the machine.  I want to give this machine some heavy use while it is still under warranty.  I also want to take advantage of as many features of the machine.

The pattern is in a book called Follow the Dots...to Dazzling Quilts by Jayme Crow and Joan Segna and is called Daisies Do Tell by Jayme Crow. I believe this pattern is also available separately from the book.  The LQS kitted it with dotted fabric to go with the theme of the book.   Since I'm not selling it, I don't have to be politically correct, and am calling it Daisy's Chickenpox.

Snowbird Quilt Reveal

I had so much fun making the Infinity quilt, I went straight into making another quilt.  I was looking for something that would use the same fabric as the Infinity quilt. This time, I found a free pattern from the Quilter's Newsletter website. It's called Textured Tweety's Snowflake and is designed by Wendy Butler Burns. It looked like a quick and simple quilt that would look great with the Infinity quilt, and use some of its scraps, even though it did require a dig through the scrap bin for other fabric.

I already had a snowflake on the fusible from a coaster I made using a Patrick Lose pattern, so I used that instead of the one in the Quilter's Newsletter pattern. I used a decorative stitch to quilt it.  I love that it looks like ice crystals, and that it is easy to add since sewing over ice crystals still looks like ice crystals. I really like the border fabric - it is so versatile. It can be used to represent sky or water or ice. The tan background was probably made to represent coffee, but it also has a snowlike quality to it. 

The bird is secured / quilted with a feather stitch and the branch is stitched with a snowflake / asterisk stitch.  The wing is a rose fabric but you can't tell that it is a rose.  Just a little hidden promise of spring and summer.  The border uses a stitch that looks like bird feet (claws) but you can't see it much in the busy fabric. 

I printed the pattern landscape instead of portrait so I lost the branch pattern and decided to cut my own freeform. Surely I can do a branch.  It looks like an alligator to me, or is that a crocodile?  I like the motif quilting stitches in the pattern.  Now that I have a reverse button that works and a fix button which secures the stitches, I can do motifs again.

Here's what it looks like on the bulletin board. The Snowbird Quilt shares the red and white fabrics from the Infinity quilt. The red from the bird, the tan background and the blue border probably also share fabric with other quilts, but unfortunately I can't remember where they were used.  I know I've planned on using them for many different projects, but I'm not sure I actually did use them anywhere else.

The back uses some shiny snowflake fabric.  I had leftover fused fabric, and cut out another bird for the back that is being used for the label. The beak is more of that rose fabric.  The back is pretty enough to be used as a front too.  This quilt was a lot of fun to make.

And the snowbird really did bring snow with her. Once I finished the quilt, I went for a walk, and lo and behold it was snowing - a hard cold snow.  This is today's snow - it is a bit more substantial and softer.

Infinity Reveal

In less than a week, I have finished the red and white Infinity quilt.  I used a faux piped binding tutorial to add a little zing.  I had some difficulty in getting the two end pieces to line up right, and after a few tries I decided it was close enough. I am happy with it, although I probably should take it out the last seam and do a better job of turning over and securing the binding.  I hadn't thought about the binding when making the rounds of the quilt, and hated to lose a whole round with the binding.

It finishes at 9" x 9 3/4".  Here's how it looks on my wall.

I especially like the zing the diagonals make when looking at it from the computer chair.

Here's the label. I was going to make a small courthouse square, but I decided to mimic the "infinity" stripes. I should have used a fabric pen instead of a sharpie, but at least the info is there!

The red and white fabric has been used in this flag quilt which I made in 2010.


It has also been used in this spiderweb quilt, which is still unfinished. I have it pinned to some gray fabric, but I have now decided that red or white would be a better option. Hopefully this quilt will be finished this year.

Review of Husqvarna Viking Opal 650

My sewing machine broke earlier this year, and although I did manage to fix it, I didn't have time to sew much to verify that it was indeed back to its normal state.  I haven't been able to do any sewing for a long time due to tight deadlines at work and massive amounts of overtime.  I have been looking at blogs and magazines during my "spare time," like when I am eating breakfast, which has created a pent up demand for sewing.


When the deadline was met and the cleanup started, I brought out my African Crazy quilt, thinking that I could do some handwork on it.  But as the cleanup at work happened, my house was also screaming for cleanup, so the box sat unopened.

Eventually the pent up demand for sewing got too strong, and I rushed out to buy a new sewing machine.  I went to the Viking store that is inside the Joann store. I went straight for the Husqvarna Viking Opal 650  which I had decided I wanted earlier in the year. They had simpler models which had smaller throats and bigger models with more stitches and embroidery features, but this model had what I needed, and a few extra bells and whistles without too much of the stuff I didn't need.   I was able to get it for a great price, and am very happy with my purchase thus far.

See the built in needle threader, the clear bobbin cover and the supply box in the back. The organizer (sold separately) does make it easier to find things.

The many stitches available, the needle up and down button, the fix button, the cover that keeps your thread clean and out of the way.

The guide tells you what pressure foot to use, what stitch you are using, and lets you adjust your stitch length and move your needle over.

What I like About the Husqvarna Viking Opal 650

• It feels like a nice sturdy machine.  It has metal parts!
• The machine has many, many more stitches than my Kenmore 16, which has 16 stitches. It has 160. I haven't tried them all yet, but don't worry, I will use all of them at one point or another.  I  like using them for quilting.
• Larger storage space means more space to put those odds and ends supplies.
• Larger throat means more space to quilt big quilts.
• The reverse button works!
• It has a needle down position.
• You can see when you are running out of bobbin thread.
• You can wind the bobbin with the needle still threaded.
• It secures the stitches when it starts - they call it "fix"  and you can also secure the stitches at the end without reversing.
• The nice big storage space is behind the needle, so there is lots of place to put all your feet. 
• You can move your needle over to get a scant quarter inch seam. 
  

Negative Features of the Husqvarna Viking Opal 650

• The biggest negative is that it doesn't come with quilting feet.  You have to buy the quarter inch foot, the walking foot, and the darning foot separately.  They do have a quilter's package that has these three feet for less than the price of buying them individually, but I'm waiting for the sale.
• The feet don't work with other machines, so I can't mix and match and use the ones I already have.
• The big storage space is behind the needle so you have to reach around to find things.  On my Kenmore, it is in front of the needle and much easier to access.  The big space also means that things get lost in there.  There is an organizer (pictured) that is sold separately separate that will help make things easier.
• Since the machine is bigger than the Kenmore, it doesn't fit in my sewing table.  I am going to have to find another arrangement, which may finding someone to make the space bigger, or buying an extension so I can have a flat bed.
• The accessories are expensive! 

Overall, I am really happy with the machine so far. 

2021 Update

I wrote this review in 2013 and have owned the Opal for a long while now. Here are my updated thoughts on the machine.

• I stand by my opinion about the positive and negative features listed above.
• I don't have to change anything, but I do have information to add.
• My store offered free classes to help you learn how to use the machine. This was helpful, but it depended greatly on the knowledge of the instructor.
  
• The company recommends annual servicing and cleaning to maintain the warranty. This costs about $100 per year, maybe a little less. This type of servicing is probably recommended for all sewing machines, so it isn't specific to the Opal, but it is something for new sewing machine owners to know and keep in mind.
• I bought a flat bed extension. It has been a life changer. Having a flat bed makes quilting so much easier since it helps reduce drag. The flat bed also had a cling which had guiding marks so I no longer have to mark sewing lines for half square triangles.
• Last year, I had a problem with the machine. I found out something about the servicing and maintenance of the machine. I, Shasta Matova at High Road Quilter, live in Ohio, and the servicing is done in Michigan. The dealer (the Viking store that is inside a Joann store) couldn't find anyone they liked in Ohio to do the servicing, so they ship to Michigan. They repair it there and then ship it back. This means it will take more than a week to get your machine back.  If there is a problem with the repair, it will have to be sent back to Michigan for a second look. Your takeaway is to ask your dealer about where the servicing will take place and the timing when considering buying a machine. 

Overall, I am still happy with the machine. 

Red and White Infinity Quilt Continued

The Liberated Quilters yahoogroup were having an at-home quilting retreat this weekend. It was nice to think about other people quilting along with me while I continued to work on my Infinity red and white reproduction quilt.

On Sunday, I added a few more rows. I will spare you the photos as I added each row.  I continued to sew until I ran out of the red fabric I had cut. I could have cut more if I wanted it to be bigger, but it was also the same time that the small ruler I was using wouldn't have worked.  I didn't have a plan for how big the quilt would be, and wasn't thinking of limiting it to the size of the ruler, but it seemed like as good a stopping point as any.

I then had to make the decision of whether to add white after the red. In the original quilt, the round is not finished.  I really liked the liberated aspect of it, but I also like the symmetry of completing the round. Since I was joining the Liberated Quilters retreat, I had to try to figure out whether it would be more liberated to copy the liberated aspect of the quilt or to liberate myself from the pattern to make a more conventional courthouse square.  At the end, I decided I wanted to make the quilt more rectangular, so I added the white at the top and the bottom.

I wanted to make sure that I kept the quilting simple on this quilt.  I got out a book of quilting patterns, Helen's Copy and Use Quilting Patterns (Dear Helen, Book 6) and found a simple grid.  I think curves may have worked better on this quilt, but I didn't want to distract from the pattern.  I simply made a copy of the grid (it was just the right size) and pinned it to the quilt sandwich.  (I used a fusible spray).  It was a simple continuous line so it was very easy to quilt.  I tore off the paper and trimmed the quilt. I'm not sure I chose the best quilting pattern - since the grid is square and the block is rectangular. It is just slightly off center, but because of the small size, it looks more off center than it is. But I am liberated, and it is staying the way it is.

All that is left is the binding, the hanging sleeve and the label.

Reproduction Quilt from Red and White Exhibition

I have been wanting to do some quilting for so long this year, but it just seemed like I was too busy. I finally decided I was going to have to make some time to do it.  I spent too much time on Pinterest, looking at quilts. Each day, I would find one or two quilts that made me want to drop everything and start that quilt.  I didn't, of course, I wouldn't have had the time to make all those quilts. I don't make a quilt in a day, no matter how simple it is.


Sometimes, I even put the quilt as a desktop image.  This is the quilt that is on my desktop image now:
http://limilee.tumblr.com/post/12514034308/red-and-white-quilt-from-infinite-variety

It is a red and white quilt from the Infinite Variety exhibit from the American Folk Art Museum.  I've been wanting to make a red and white quilt after seeing all those gorgeous photos of all those red and white quilts.  It only has two fabrics and is a simple courthouse square.  And as a bonus, I have solid red and white fabrics.

I decided to go ahead and make it. Yes, quilting has occurred here on the High Road.  There are only two pieces of fabric, so I don't have to rummage through all my fabric scraps and be reminded of all the unfinished projects I have in the quilt room.  And I can quickly get out before I realize that I really need to finish cleaning the quilt room.
Here's the progress thus far:

I decided that instead of making a square, I would prefer a rectangle. I trimmed off just a bit from the center to make it rectangular. My daughter said it looks like an "O". I like that. It looks like the Ohio State University symbol. Go Bucks!

I am happy that it still looks like an O for Ohio State. I really like the red on the outside and plan to end with a red round and red binding.  Since all the rounds are being added to one piece, this quilt would work well with another quilt as a Leader and Ender.  Unfortunately, I don't have another quilt set up, and I don't want to go through the sewing room again. I am trying to reduce the number of times I have to run my scrap through the machine though.

The original has more rounds, and there is plenty of fabric left. They were big pieces and I chopped off a little bit to use - about a quarter yard's worth. While taking a break from this quilt, I came across a Quilt Cam that Bonnie Hunter had recorded.  She answered a question from one of her viewers about the backing fabric.  She recommended not starting in the center and working around and around, saying that it would require measuring again and again after each round.  Yes, Bonnie I know exactly what you mean. I am cutting one round at a time to make it easier to keep track of the pieces.

 

Even though it is tempting to stop after a few rounds, the zing that happens at the diagonals doesn't really happen until quite a few rows have been made. I don't like the pulling that is happening, but hopefully it will be fine after it has been quilted down.

That's all the progress from yesterday.  I still have to decide how many rounds I want to add.  I want a small quilt, but one with impact. Writing this post, I looked up where I got the original quilt, and since it is from the Infinite Variety exhibit, I am going to call this quilt Infinite, because of the number of rows.

Curtains!

Since coming back from my sewing lull, my brain has been brimming with new ideas and projects to start.  One of those ideas is to make curtains for several rooms, but specifically for my guest bedroom.  This room used to be an office, and had sheer curtains, but now that it will be used as a guest bedroom, it needs more privacy.  I bought some outdoor fabric that I think will work great as curtains.  It is the same thickness as my dining room curtains - it lets the light through, but you can't see through it.

I wanted something that would fun, interesting, and gender neutral.  I will have to keep the bedding calm and plain (maybe solid?) to avoid overwhelming the tiny room.

Blind Hem Stitch by Machine

When I had the demo for the new sewing machine, one of the things she showed me was the blind hem stitch.  I've actually had several demos for machines and they almost always showed off the blind hem stitch.  I remember thinking, "hey, why are you showing me this stitch - I have that on my old machine!"  They really didn't spend as much time showing off the fancy stitches.  But the interesting thing is, that even though my old machine had this stitch, I didn't really know how to use it. The fact that they use this stitch in every sewing demonstration shows that many people like this feature, even though they don't use it.

I realized as I was holding the curtain fabric on my lap, that these curtains would give me a great chance to try out the blind hem stitch.  I had to look up some youtube videos for blind hem stitch, so I would remember how to use it. Another video showed that you could fold the fabric down as usual and pin it, then stitch it down.  The trick is in knowing how to fold the fabric and this one shows the fold more clearly.



The curtains aren't finished - I got distracted by another idea, okay maybe more than one.  I will show the finished curtains to you when they are done.

Viking Sewing Event

Tulip Pillow made at Viking Sewing Event

Earlier this year, my trusty 24-year-old Kenmore gave out on me.  It seemed like it was a goner, and I started thinking about getting a new machine.  I tinkered some more with the Kenmore and think I have fixed it, but I haven't had time to work with it during the busy season at work.  But the yearning for a new machine didn't leave me, and I broke down and bought a new machine, the Husqvarna Viking 650 with lots of stitches.  I have started writing a review for it, and want to try out some more features before I publish it.

I am still working out a schedule for my free new machine classes, but in the meantime, I received an email on Tuesday about a Sewing Event.  Pay a small fee for supplies and lunch, and come in for six hours.  On Thursday.  Talk about short notice!  I am still working, but I have flexible hours, so I decided to take the day off.  Of course, my boss decided I had a deadline on Thursday, so I worked late on Wednesday and early Thursday morning in order to meet it. Phew! That was tiring.

On Thursday, I went to Joann's (the Viking store is inside Joanns, but it is a separate entity).  I thought I would be the only person there, or one of a few, but there were more than 10 people!  I missed the introductions so I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen, but it turned out that we were all making a pillow.

Watching Embroidery Machine Doing All the Work

We first sewed the triangles onto the center square.  They set us up on the embroidery machine, and we could watch the design show up on our piece.  Then we chose our own quilting stitches and locations, and put a backing to make a pillow.

It was, as expected, a way to drum up sales - check out our wonderful embroidery machine, on sale now!, the embroidery software that lets you design your own embroidery designs, how about a new quarter inch foot with a flange to keep your fabric from wandering off (which I really want now), etc.

It is a beautiful pillow, and it is amazing all the wonderful features that are available today.

Embroidery and Quilting Stitches on Tulip Pillow

I enjoyed the class, but it didn't have the satisfaction of making something.  Part of it is the fact that I made the same thing as everyone else.  I always change up patterns to avoid having something that looks exactly like someone else's.  Personally, the joy for me in quilting is the designing and making part, and not the finished product, so having a machine that does everything for me was somewhat disappointing.    It was a good lesson for me to learn, though, because I had been eyeing the embroidery machines, especially the ones that let you design your own patterns, and now I know that I made the right choice with the machine I did buy.

Claiming my blog on bloglovin

Since Google Reader is going away, I am trying Bloglovin as an alternative.  I have over 20,000 posts to read!!!

I am planning on doing a lot of quilting the rest of the year, and will have lots of fun things to show you,.  I don't want you to miss anything, so please do:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Update

It's been a while since I have posted. I've been busy, although there isn't a lot of progress to show for it. Here's an update.

House

My family bought a house together to fix up and sell.  This was very stressful, as we all had different ideas about what needed to be done, how much money should be spent, and what part we wanted to play in it.  In the end, I wound up holding the bag.  I am still taking input from the family members, but this means that I get the final say so about what gets done.

The contractor that I hired seems to be doing a nice quality job.  However, due to his personal issues, he has been taking a lot longer than expected to finish the job. I was trying to help as much as possible, and was able to paint two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  That took a lot of my time, since I don't have a lot of experience in preparing walls, priming, etc.

There are some beautiful changes that have been made so far:

Dishwasher and counter

In the kitchen, a new sink and a dishwasher has been installed and a nice bigger counter top installed over it.  He had to add another cabinet on the other side of the dishwasher, so there is even more cabinet space.  The dishwasher and cabinet are where the stove is in the photo.  The stove has moved to the right of the cabinets.  It is a beautiful big kitchen with two windows and the dishwasher and bigger counter top makes it a much nicer space to work in. The kitchen is much nicer than my tiny kitchen.

Doorway

A doorway has been made between the kitchen and the living room so people don't have to go down the narrow hallway and past all the bedrooms just to go from the living room to the kitchen.  The doorway is on the left of the photo, where the refrigerator was.  I think it really opens up the space and doesn't feel so boxy.  It also separates the public spaces from the private spaces.  And as I told the contractor, if you are watching the movie, you don't burn your popcorn because you can go straight through the kitchen instead of running all the way around the house.

Sliding door

There is a bathroom that is past the back door.  There wasn't a door to the bathroom probably because it would keep getting in the way of the backdoor.  Instead, there was a broken foldable closet door.  It didn't feel very safe to me, even if it wasn't broken.  Instead, the contractor put in a pocket door.  It is a nice solid door that slides out of the way.

Paneling

The house had a lot of old paneling throughout the upstairs, this cape cod had paneling in the bedroom and bathroom.  And downstairs, there was paneling in the room between the garage and back door. (They call it a breezeway).  All of the paneling has been taken down and is being replaced with drywall.

There are many other things that are being done - the list is huge, but we really wanted the house to be a wonderful and comfortable place for the next owner to live in, and to increase the market value of the neighborhood.

Work

Since my daughter has graduated and is back home, she is looking for her career path.  While she is looking, I was able to get a job for her at my place of employment.  Initially, she was scheduled to work on a different time schedule, but one of the people switched with her, and we were able to carpool.  It was really enjoyable, and many people reported to me that she is a wonderful worker.  She enjoyed meeting people from different walks of life, and was able to get a lot of employment advice from them.

Housework

It's been a while since I told you I was rearranging things in my house, and sad to say, but that is still in progress. I emptied out the small bedroom and turned it into a guest room.  Then I worked on making the current guest room into a crafts / sewing room.  I took out all of the sewing supplies from my bedroom and made it a proper bedroom.  I've made significant progress on my bedroom and the now guest bedroom, but just like the other house, it is taking a long time. I still have to arrange my craft / sewing room.  And all this work upstairs has left the public areas downstairs needing some serious attention.

Garden

This year, we decided to make a different plan for the garden. Instead of the usual tomatoes and peppers, we have decided to plant lettuce, spinach, squash, pineapple basil and anise.  I am growing them in the house and will transplant them soon.

Quilting

Unfortunately, quilting has had to wait while I work on my job, painting the house, and my own rearrangement of rooms. I have been drooling over quilting magazines and am itching to get started on quilting again.  Wanting to quilt has motivated me to hurry up and finish cleaning the living areas and the sewing room upstairs.  It will happen.  Soon, I hope.

Quote of the Day

Riches don't make a man rich, they only make him busier.
Christopher Columbus

Quote of the Day

In real life, it is the hare who wins. Every time. Look around you. and in any case it is my contention that Aesop was writing for the tortoise market. hares have no time to read. They are too busy winning the game.

Anita Brookner

Quote of the Day

I know what I want; I took the steps necessary to achieve those things.

Now it's your turn.

Bill Holland

Quote of the Day

Each day is worth celebrating. So how can you celebrate today?

Quote of the Day

If you would not be forgotten
as soon as you are rotten,
either write things worth reading
or do things worth the writing.

      Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Day

By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions,
one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.

Christopher Columbus

Please Help Me With Blushing Bride

I have finished binding the Blushing Bride quilt.  Normally, at this point, I would present the finished quilt - Ta Da, and move on to the next one.

But I am not sure I am quite finished with this one.  Here's what it looks like right now.  Choice A is to leave it as is and call it done.

As you may recall, my feed dogs on my sewing machine fell asleep, so I needed to manually move the quilt while quilting it.  Some of the quilting stitches have bad tension which is obvious on the back. It is minor though so it really wouldn't cause difficulty to leave it as it is.   Also when I was hand stitching the binding, a couple of the stitches showed up on the front. Yes, I could have fixed those, but I decided that since I was going to quilt by hand anyway, I may as well leave them in.  Plus, I am not sure if those big white spaces are okay as they are.  (It is a small quilt so big is a relative term). I thought of some ideas to fill up the spaces. I am planning to do whatever I do by hand.

Choice B: I could add hearts or roses  in the empty spaces. I've roughly drawn this out in Paint to see what that would look like. Hopefully the finished product will be a bit neater, although with the whimsical butterflies, I am not aiming for perfection.

Choice C: Another option is to add some straight quilting lines in different colors.  I could add zig zags to add interest or simply make straight quilting lines. I'm not sure I know how to handle the horizontal borders in this scenario.

Choice D: I could add some more words and butterflies to fill up the space and quilt them.

What do you think? What would be the best way to quilt and finish this quilt?

In case you were wondering about the bulletin board, here is what it looks like today. Blushing Bride needs to blush because she is the biggest quilt on the wall and is covering up a whole quilt as well as parts of several quilts because of that.