A Quilting Tip

Have you ever had a quilt top that was difficult to mark? You would either need to use two or more different markers and wonder if they will come out after the quilting is done. Well, here's something to consider. If you know the top will be difficult to mark and you have not bought your backing yet, how about buying either a back that is light enough to mark on with a silver Prismacolor Verithin pencil or dark enough to use a white Verithin pencil? You would do your outline quilting (if there is any) or any quilting in the ditch to mark blocks if you would like to do that; this is done from the right side. Now turn the entire piece over and mark your other quilting designs on the backing! You can easily see the markings and can quilt smoothly and without straining to see the lines. If you mark lightly enough, the marks should have worn off while you were quilting.

And, if you are marking an all-over design, you can just start marking and quilting! What could be easier?

For those of you who are struggling to make your stitches on the back look like the front--here's your chance to practice! Because what you would normally consider stitches on the back are now -- on the front!!!! I love quilting like this and have done several pieces this way.

In these pictures you can see the outline quilting (done in yellow, so all you really see is the shadow) and then the spiral done in a variegated thread.

And here is the final result. I took the picture at an angle so that you can really see the dimension that the quilting adds. I still need to bind the piece, but I quilted it in about a day.

Next post: Who knows? I've been doing a bit of everything the last few days. I just got Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell--unfortunately in hard copy, not audio, so I can only do one thing at a time with that! And it sucks you in at the first chapter. Other authors I have been listening to are David Baldacci, Lee Child, Dick Francis, Anne Rivers Siddons, Clive Cussler, J.D. Robb, Stuart Wood...all excellent to keep me listening and working!

May the spirit of Christmas abide in your hearts all year long. Til next time....

Who Knew...

that I would need parental controls on my computer to keep Callie from posting to the blog!!!! But we both loved the comments--many thanks to all who did leave them! Callie is sitting on my cutting counter, which is behind where my computer sits, so that she can supervise this post. Probably so that she can be sure I don't say anything too bad about her!

I've been busy getting ready for the holidays. I'll be teaching up til December 18, with the 2009 schedule set. I'll post that on my website soon for those who are interested. I have been quilting--finished another small piece last week and started another. I think I have about five ready for binding. I've also been working on some ornaments and a bit of holiday knitting.

Here are some pics of the wildlife outside my sewing room window. Enjoy!

Hello?!?!

Hi, everyone. My name is Callie. My mom told me she has been posting more frequently (for her!) and no one is commenting. She is wondering if anyone is out there reading her stuff and looking at her pictures.

Knock, knock--is anyone there? Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln who? What...you don't know me? (A really good M*A*S*H oldie!) But seriously, is anyone out there?

Life is good here at Stroud Quilting Central--except my mom talks to herself quite a bit--should I be worried? Nah, she always has a good supply of dog and cat food and treats and a HUGE supply of catnip. And at least she won't be known as the "Cat Lady" because of that dog in our life. So I guess she'd have to be the "Cat and Dog Lady" or maybe just "Crazy" would fit the bill.

Well, all this typing has made me tired, so I am going to have a hit of catnip and take a nap. Don't forget to write...as you can see, I will be checking!