Monday, September 13, 2010

Coming Through in Waves


I practiced "wiggles" today as part of the free motion quilt along at A Few Scraps.

First I practiced drawing them on paper.  I preferred to think of them as waves versus wiggles.  

Then I thought of Pink Floyd and the lyrics to Comfortably Numb:  You are only coming through in waves...  

Wouldn't that be a great song to free motion quilt to?  Alas, I only have the Scissor Sisters version on CD, and that doesn't have quite the same vibe.

Hi.

Welcome to my rear view.  Sometimes I have the TV on when I'm sewing, but it's behind me.  Thus the mirror.

Quilting gloves?  Check.  Bifocals?  Check.  Beer?  You better believe it.

I liked quilting waves.  Then I went back and did them again, so one part looks like a DNA strand.

Oopsie in the middle there.  I let go of the quilt sandwich before my machine had come to a complete stop.

What has been most helpful is to hold my hands in a U-shape as I'm quilting.  The only thing about that is I have to stop when I quilt to the bottom of the U formed by my thumbs, reposition, and restart.  But once I got the hang of stopping and starting, it went okay.  I definitely felt more in control that way.

I really like the ribbon effect when you do sort of a shadow stitch along the first line of stitching.  The one above is my favorite.

This was fun.  Can't wait to do more!

Peace out.

Live long and prosper.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the mirror for the tv. Brilliant!

Live long and prosper. :)

Sarah Craig said...

You are such a hoot!! And I have the same mirror concept in my small sewing room - it works great!! So in answer to Live Long and Prosper, I respond in correct Vulcan style, Peace and Long Life!!

GaAm said...

Your FMQ is coming along nicely; however, if you start becoming comfortably numb, you might not get very far. :)

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
And I have become comfortably numb

Jim said...

So glad I found your blog via Pyrex Collective!
Love 'Comfortably Numb'......feel like that a lot! Thanks for intro to them.....where have I been.
Your quilting looks like lots of fun.
Jim

Shay said...

Gosh that looks great ! I really must pull my finger out and give it a shot.

LOVE the idea of the mirror for the TV!

Michelle said...

Your FMQ is coming along really well. I haven't tried ribbons before, but now you've got me intrigued. Really like the DNA helix too.

Learning to come to a complete stop before moving my hands was one of the hardest things for me to learn--and I still forget sometimes. Ribbit. ;-)

HA! I'd never thought of putting a mirror behind me do I could see the TV.

Had a good giggle about the beer too.

Carla said...

It's looks great P.! I really like the ribbon quilting.

Diana said...

I love reading your post on wiggles:) The mirror for the TV is such a great idea. I only have the birds in the garden keeping me company when I sew!

madge said...

so funny! i love it.

Joe said...

Stanette and I are going to see Roger Waters perform the Wall in its entirety in Los Angeles, In November.

20th row.

Yee-haw!

Kathy Swaagman said...

Just keep drinking the beer and the waves will come a whole lot easier!

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

A little beer consumption is conducive to brilliant stitching! I know it to be true and you've proven it:)

Not everyone can make Spock fingers, you know. It's very specialized.

Elizabeth said...

I've been itching to get to this. As you know, I've been without a machine for far too long now -- I haven't sewn in 15 days and it is killing me. My machine is finally back and top of my list is the FMQAlong. I love your double ribbons. That looks awesome! I also loved your rear-view mirror. That is super funny. You are just awesome.

xo -E