My fishy WH progresses

I finally had a chance to sew some more on my tropical fish WH. I
haven't done much since I found and printed patterns for the
appliques. I know most of you start with a whole quilt pattern and
then make it, but I'm flying by the seat of my pants for my own design
so I made the main part of the top then made applique patterns to fit
the size of the top. That is just how I think. It works for me, so I
don't intend to change.

I cut out the sailboat pieces and stitched them onto muslin, cut the
muslin and turned them. The boat body is brown corduroy that I cut so
it looks kind of like little planks running the whole length of the
boat and the sails are bright yellow with tiny white polka dots. I
hand appliqued them onto the WH top. I learned enough from making the
boat to know I don't want to try making a submarine or a scuba diver
because they are more intricate and way above my current skill level,
so I tossed out those ideas.

Next the fishing pole and fish. I had thought about just using muslin
to back the dangling fish, but that might not look so good if the fish
got turned around. So I cut two fish out of the fish fabric, stitched
them together, turned and stuffed it, then added a toothpick "fishing
pole" with real fishing line. Now the fish actually dangles at the
end of a fishing line and since there is a fish on each side, it won't
matter if it occasionally gets flipped around. That will be added to
the front after the quilting is done.

I also hunted for the perfect sailboat mast. I thought about using a
length of ribbon or a short flat stick but they didn't look quite
right so I kept hunting and found something that really looks
cool----a solid white swizzle stick. I'll have to couch that on after
the quilting too, but I won't mind since it adds a lot to the boat.

Finally, I basted the sandwich together. And did a little practice
quilting on the machine with a darning foot. I need a lot more
practice with that. Maybe I should "walk" before I run so I think I
will use the walking foot for most, if not all, of the quilting on
this WH. Can a walking foot be used to do curves at all or can it
only do straight lines?

Maybe tonight I can get the binding folded so it will be ready when I
need it. I hope to get started on the quilting tomorrow. I sure wish
I had more free time to sit at the sewing machine. This would have
been finished weeks ago if I had the time to work on it. Ah well,
this way it grows by leaps and bounds.

Debra in VA

PICS???? Come on you give us this great story about this wonderful work
of art and we can't look??? Your going kill me with the suspense!..lol
Waiting to see pics...
Joanna

Debra wrote:

I finally had a chance to sew some more on my tropical fish WH. I
haven't done much since I found and printed patterns for the
appliques. I know most of you start with a whole quilt pattern and
then make it, but I'm flying by the seat of my pants for my own design
so I made the main part of the top then made applique patterns to fit
the size of the top. That is just how I think. It works for me, so I
don't intend to change.

I cut out the sailboat pieces and stitched them onto muslin, cut the
muslin and turned them. The boat body is brown corduroy that I cut so
it looks kind of like little planks running the whole length of the
boat and the sails are bright yellow with tiny white polka dots. I
hand appliqued them onto the WH top. I learned enough from making the
boat to know I don't want to try making a submarine or a scuba diver
because they are more intricate and way above my current skill level,
so I tossed out those ideas.

Next the fishing pole and fish. I had thought about just using muslin
to back the dangling fish, but that might not look so good if the fish
got turned around. So I cut two fish out of the fish fabric, stitched
them together, turned and stuffed it, then added a toothpick "fishing
pole" with real fishing line. Now the fish actually dangles at the
end of a fishing line and since there is a fish on each side, it won't
matter if it occasionally gets flipped around. That will be added to
the front after the quilting is done.

I also hunted for the perfect sailboat mast. I thought about using a
length of ribbon or a short flat stick but they didn't look quite
right so I kept hunting and found something that really looks
cool----a solid white swizzle stick. I'll have to couch that on after
the quilting too, but I won't mind since it adds a lot to the boat.

Finally, I basted the sandwich together. And did a little practice
quilting on the machine with a darning foot. I need a lot more
practice with that. Maybe I should "walk" before I run so I think I
will use the walking foot for most, if not all, of the quilting on
this WH. Can a walking foot be used to do curves at all or can it
only do straight lines?

Maybe tonight I can get the binding folded so it will be ready when I
need it. I hope to get started on the quilting tomorrow. I sure wish
I had more free time to sit at the sewing machine. This would have
been finished weeks ago if I had the time to work on it. Ah well,
this way it grows by leaps and bounds.

Debra in VA

--
Remove Quilt to reply

Debra --

It sounds wonderful, can't wait to see the pics.

Love in Stitches,

Coleen

"Debra" wrote in message
...
I finally had a chance to sew some more on my tropical fish WH. I
haven't done much since I found and printed patterns for the
appliques. I know most of you start with a whole quilt pattern and
then make it, but I'm flying by the seat of my pants for my own design
so I made the main part of the top then made applique patterns to fit
the size of the top. That is just how I think. It works for me, so I
don't intend to change.

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 22:29:53 GMT, Joanna
wrote:

PICS???? Come on you give us this great story about this wonderful work
of art and we can't look??? Your going kill me with the suspense!..lol
Waiting to see pics...
Joanna

You'll just have to wait until it's done. I'll bet I'm more anxious
to see if finished than you are.
Debra in VA

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 18:04:00 -0500, "Coleen"
wrote:

Debra --

It sounds wonderful, can't wait to see the pics.

Love in Stitches,

I hope I can finish it soon. Piccies will be posted whenever it's
done though.
Debra in VA

It sounds wonderful. My LQS told me that a walking foot only works for
straight lines (after I had already used it for curves) Try it on a
practice piece to see if it will work for you.
Kathy in FL

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 21:16:33 -0400, (Kathryn Sews)
wrote:

It sounds wonderful. My LQS told me that a walking foot only works for
straight lines (after I had already used it for curves) Try it on a
practice piece to see if it will work for you.
Kathy in FL

Might just work out for me then. I don't need to make tight curves,
just waves, so I'll try it. Thanks for the info.

Debra in VA

Hullo Debra
Apart from 'practice' bits I use my walking foot for all my quilting -
and I have progressed beyond straight lines. Yes, it is slower, when
you have to stop and adjust position, for complex quilting designs; but
it is 'safe'!!
You can certainly do gentle curves without stopping. The other thing I
have done for water, if your machine has the stitches, is use one of the
wavy special stitches - with the walking foot.
This quilt sounds most interesting.

In article , Debra
writes
snipped

Finally, I basted the sandwich together. And did a little practice
quilting on the machine with a darning foot. I need a lot more
practice with that. Maybe I should "walk" before I run so I think I
will use the walking foot for most, if not all, of the quilting on
this WH. Can a walking foot be used to do curves at all or can it
only do straight lines?
snipped
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Doing something that "they say" can't be done is always such fun. Some of
"they" say you can't pivot with a twin needle. Well, of course you can. It
is a bit tricky but possible. As to the waves, a few with a point or peak
might add some interest to your already very interesting creation. We wanna
see. Polly

"Patti" wrote in message
...
Hullo Debra
Apart from 'practice' bits I use my walking foot for all my quilting -
and I have progressed beyond straight lines. Yes, it is slower, when
you have to stop and adjust position, for complex quilting designs; but
it is 'safe'!!
You can certainly do gentle curves without stopping. The other thing I
have done for water, if your machine has the stitches, is use one of the
wavy special stitches - with the walking foot.
This quilt sounds most interesting.

In article , Debra
writes
snipped

Finally, I basted the sandwich together. And did a little practice
quilting on the machine with a darning foot. I need a lot more
practice with that. Maybe I should "walk" before I run so I think I
will use the walking foot for most, if not all, of the quilting on
this WH. Can a walking foot be used to do curves at all or can it
only do straight lines?
snipped
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 08:09:49 +0100, Patti
wrote:

Hullo Debra
Apart from 'practice' bits I use my walking foot for all my quilting -
and I have progressed beyond straight lines. Yes, it is slower, when
you have to stop and adjust position, for complex quilting designs; but
it is 'safe'!!
You can certainly do gentle curves without stopping. The other thing I
have done for water, if your machine has the stitches, is use one of the
wavy special stitches - with the walking foot.
This quilt sounds most interesting.

Hmm.....I hadn't thought about doing anything other than simple
straight forward, curving when I needed. I can do the little scallop,
zigzag, and a few others on mom's machine that has the walking foot.
I'll have to let her know about those possibilities.
Debra in VA