Plugging away -

And learning a lot - ;))

I learned that I like to "push" and "pull" the quilt when I'm stitching lines - going from back to front and front to back - it seems easier to me than trying to stitch the lines from side to side - so with a slight turn of the quilt - I can stitch the HST from back to front across the diagonal seam line - and then front to back -

I learned that it is easier to stop at the "top" of a line to re-position my hands than at the "bottom" - because I can see where I want to go next -

I learned that I would rather have the bulk of the quilt in my lap - and not against the wall all bunched up at the back of my machine -

I learned that I'm OK with not being perfect - I'm not quilting this professionally and charging money for it - it's not going to be entered in any sort of competition - it's practice for me to get more comfortable maneuvering the bulk of the quilt - getting my hand movement and foot pedal speed coordinated so that the stitches are similar in length - and no one is going to notice anyway. If they do - they are free to do better when they make their own quilt - LOL - ;))

AND -

I learned WHY I was getting myself twisted up and going in the wrong direction!! -

Woohoo!! -

This quilt is set - 4 blocks across - and 4 blocks down -

One block has a HST - then a horizontal two-patch (2P) - and then another HST -

The next block has a HST - a horizontal two-patch (2P) - and then another HST -

If I start quilting in the middle and work my way out to the outer edge -

I should be quilting - HST - 2P - HST - HST - 2P - HST - right? -

Well, I was so "in the groove" - that after the first HST - 2P - HST -

I started looking for the next 2P -

Forgetting that the next block started with another HST - DUH!! - ;))

Once I figured that out -

I finished up the rest of the "top" and "bottom" rows of each block - ;))

Tomorrow I should be able to figure out which direction I want the rows in the "center" blocks to go -

And then finish up the four remaining "middle" rows -

At least that's the plan - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -