Lessons Learned

The 2014 Cobblestone Quilt Show has come and gone and although I got all my quilts finished and to the show, I didn't not win any ribbons.  Hopefully I did learn a few lessons from the experience.

Our show allows for quilts to be entered that aren't quite finished.  The show entry is early in January and the quilts were due at the beginning of last week,  or about 46 days to finish final details.  This does not mean that you should enter four quilts that are not yet quilted - especially when one is a queen size quilt!

Indigo Quilt in A Box

This became the bane of my existence.  The blocks where all quilted by the end of January and then I struggled getting them sewn together.  If I had more time, this process could have been done better and some of the quilting issues I experienced when quilting the sashing could have been avoided.  Also the weekend I put the border on was not pleasant as I made every rookie mistake possible.  But it is done. I really do not have the proper work-space or lighting to handle such a large quilt and it will be a long time (maybe forever) before I work on such a large piece again.

The second quilt, Marsh Isle One, actually had some quilting done - but I was very unhappy with the direction it was going.  The design was too busy for an already busy background and the tension was awful. So not only did I quilt this quilt in the above mentioned 46 days - but removed all the previous quilting as well.

Marsh Isle One

I am pretty pleased with the outcome - although I could have used a little more time to block it properly. I might add another cattail flower to balance the piece a bit.  I like the work I did on the egret's feathers.  This is the first in a series on the marsh I get to see outside everyday.

Number three quilt is the whole cloth, Bloom.

Bloom

Bloom is entered in another quilt show and I will work on re-blocking and straightening the edges before it is shipped out.  Again I am pleased with the quilting - just not the final finish work.

And as Monty Python would say - and now for something completely different:

Dancing Off the Wall

I challenged myself to create a 3-D piece that could hang from a regular sleeve.  All the fabric is my own hand dyed.  I struggled with the final construction as the piece is top heavy and wants to fall forward.  I was working on a solution when I simple ran out of time.  The three pieces at the top are more blue than white - but this was the best photo I managed to take at the show.  This is a concept that will be revisited in a future work.

In addition to the four show quilts, I also finished three baby quilts, made a top for an upcoming class and finished the work on my first two patterns that debuted at the show.  As this is getting long I will show them next post.

Major lessons - don't enter what isn't finished and allow plenty of time for the final details!