Movin' On Up: WIP Wednesday

Hey all! 

I made some design changes to the blog. What do you think? I definitely think it's a little more me. I think I might be starting to get the hang of this blog thing!

I started my two classes at Nuttall's in SLC, so I have LOTS of WIPs for WIP Wednesday! 

For my Beginning Sew 2 class, I am sewing a dress - McCall's 6503 (dress B on the top right).



It will be made from this wonderful Parisian-inspired fabric. I'm hoping it turns out as cute as I'm imagining it. 

The second class is a beginning quilting class. We will be sewing "Yellow Brick Road." I have to admit, when I saw the pattern - particularly the picture on the front of the pattern - I had my doubts about whether I would like this quilt. 



It screamed old, muted, and grandma to me. I definitely like brighter colors and a more modern aesthetic. But, I decided I would forge on, calling it a practice quilt and hoping for the best. 



I chose to work with some Joel Dewberry. An older line called "Modern Meadow." I was able to get a fat quarter selection at a reasonable price, as it was not the latest and greatest. Some of the fabrics I ended up with are slightly different than shown in this picture, but it gives you the general idea. 

Here's what i have so far:

I definitely have more aqua and less green in my overall palette, which I am happy with. It was so quick and fun, I didn't want to stop. But I guess I have to save some work for class. 

Last, but not least, a project that is WAY overdue. I must apologize to the intended recipient, as it has taken me at least a month longer than I had hoped. 

Ah well. 

I started with some Cameo from Amy Butler. So pretty!

I finished all of the straight line quilting yesterday. I'm pretty happy with the diagonal and almost plaid-like texture it gives the quilt. Too bad I'll have to cover some of it up with the applique. 

 What I learned: 

Straight-line quilting is actually pretty difficult, even with my walking foot. I tried several different marking and measuring techniques. 

The top two rather wonky lines were marked first using masking tape. I discovered that it's actually a bit difficult to follow, and quite a pain to rip off if you accidentally quilt over it. 

On the bottom line, I tried using the guide bar that hooks into my walking foot. I felt like it was too difficult to follow. The top of the guide bar tips up a bit as you quilt, so you can see where the front of the bar is going, but not really the back. This resulted in quilting generally the correct distance from the previous line, but the angle would be off because I couldn't see well enough to line it up correctly. 

I'm sure a more seasoned quilter with a fancier machine can achieve better results, but it was frustrating for me. 

So then I started just marking the quilting lines on the quilt top using heat-erasable Frixion pens and my quilting ruler. 

So much straighter!! Yay!

I know, not perfect, but I was much, much happier with the results. By the end of the quilt, my lines were so much straighter, and the stitches much more even. I definitely felt more successful with this method. 

Now, I know there are lots of reviews for and against the Frixion pens and their use in the quilting world. Lee - over at Freshly Pieced - has a great review. I decided to try them, especially since I'm not a show quilter and all of my quilts will be washed. So far, so good. 

Happy Wednesday!