Stretching the boundaries

We’re now in the middle of National Quilting Month and today I want to challenge you to push your limits. Maybe it’s because I get bored easily but I’m always trying to learn something new that I can incorporate in my future projects.

My pink serger quilt

The quilt I’m showing you today is one of those “what-if-I-try-this?” kinds of projects. It’s a 10-year-old quilt but still worth talking about. I had a new serger and was testing what I could do with it. I’d never owned a serger before so there were lots of fun things to learn. I played with garment construction and making napkins, etc., but my love of quilting made me want to test the waters of quilting on a serger. So I decided to make this small wall hanging. The blocks are about 9” square.

I used a Linda Lee Vivian pattern and took off from there. I did rows of pintucking. I couched down the crocheted lace. I made the puffing and assembled the colored blocks. I joined the four rows of blocks together. Then I assembled the quilt top, batting and backing and attached the borders. All those steps, I did on the serger.

Detail of my pink serger quilt

The ivory blocks were quilted with my embroidery machine. The buttons were stitched on through all three layers (with my sewing machine) so the color blocks are not quilted but rather “tied” by the buttons.

I look at this quilt today and I see things that need to be done differently. The biggest thing is the border needs to be quilted so it lays flat. But I won’t go back and redo. I think it is okay to have things around that show how much my quiltmaking skills have improved.

My challenge to you this week is to try something new. If you’ve never done it before change the color palette from what is in the picture on a pattern to something you like better. Design your own quilt using a couple of your favorite blocks. Try a different technique than you usually do … paper piecing, applique or curved piecing. Or maybe you can do some surface embellishment … add some lace or beads or maybe fabric paints. You get the idea.

I’m taking my own challenge and doing something new. I’m beginning a mystery quilt. It’s quite a stretch for me. How in the world do you choose the fabric when you don’t know what you are making? The control freak part of me is … you guessed it … freaking out. Then add the fact that I won’t allow myself to purchase fabric. I’m making myself use fabric from my “inventory.”  This quilt is another of those things I’ll be showing you later on I’m sure.

But now, I best quit talking to you and start finding my desk. I spent most of last week sewing in the studio on a work project so I seem to have misplaced my desk. I know it’s under here somewhere.

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