Success!



I got the "quilt sandwich" in the frame. I didn't even have to baste very aggressively - that's the nature of those q-snap frames, they hold the set-up pretty well.

And I've started quilting on it:



I'm just doing a simple 1/4 inch line - all around the pink pieces, and inside the outline of each spool. (The roll of narrow tape in the previous picture is what I use to help gauge the width of the quilting. Well, that, and the seam allowances: it's a major pain to stitch through a seam allowance (it's three layers of fabric rather than just one on the top - and then you also have the batting and backing).)

I had forgotten how pleasant it is to quilt on a quilt in a "big" frame. The other quilting set-up I have is a hoop - maybe a foot and a half in diameter. With that, you have less of the quilt available to you at any one time, the weight of the rest of the quilt is all on your lap or your legs, and you have to baste the heck out of the quilt (or so I've found) to keep things from shifting.

With the "big" frame, all of the weight of the quilt is supported by the frame - so it's also cooler for working in the summer. I have the frame set up in my bedroom and I find that if I sit on the foot of my bed, I'm at just the right height to work comfortably on the quilt.

(I know, I know: it is (or at least used to be) a Manners Don't to sit on a bed. But I think most American kids of my generation - who wound up using our bedrooms as playrooms as well as a place to sleep - don't really follow that any more. I suppose the rule came up because it messed up the coverlets and the "making" of the bed. Whatever. I'm the only person who ever sees my bed so if the quilt's rumpled, it doesn't matter.)

I like having the frame in my bedroom; to me, my bedroom is kind of my complete sanctuary, even more than my living room is. I can go in there and close the door and no one can see from the street whether I'm home or not (no lights show at night). I have a radio/CD player in there so I can listen to music while I work. Or I can open the curtains and blinds and watch whatever birds and butterflies come through my backyard.

I definitely think I'm going to do more quilts this way. I'm actually considering doing the Dozen Roses quilt as a hand-quilted quilt, just doing simple diagonal stitching in each square.

Hand quilting is a very inexpensive way to relax, considering the amount of time you get out of the supplies. Hopefully having a frame set up in my bedroom will encourage me to put in a few minutes every evening before I get ready to go to sleep.

***

I also pulled out the long-stalled Thermal and knit on it some this weekend. I think I now feel a desire to work on bigger, longer-term projects. (Maybe that will change once the hectic schedule of summer classes starts up, I don't know).

And yeah, classes start tomorrow. I'm pretty much ready for them.

The posting schedule will probably change; I teach two classes, one after the other, starting at 8, so I think I'll probably write the day's post mid-morning, during my office hours. Or the evening before, especially if I want to put in photographs. (I cannot, for some reason, upload to Flickr from my university computer any more. I don't know if I need to sign out and sign back in or what. I think I did change my password at some point and didn't sign out/sign back in over there. But I can still access my page and do things like put photos into sets and put already-uploaded photos on this page, so I don't know.)