Tuesday, January 4, 2011

PhD Challenge Finish No. 1 - Doll Quilt

Done! Done! On to the next one!
Done, I'm done and I'm on to the next!*

I finished the first of my PhD (Projects Half Done) Challenge quilts this evening.  Woo-hoo!

It needed the quilting finished on it and binding.  I had straight-line quilted part of it some months ago and then put it aside to finish when I got  comfortable with free motion quilting.  Yeah, like that's gonna happen.  

Seriously though, I have gotten a little more comfortable with FMQ since participating in the Free Motion Quilt Along (which I am very behind on...more on that another time).

So, okay, it's not perfect—nothing ever is—but it's done, and done is pretty sweet!


I practiced quilting loopy daisies a few times and they still looked like heck, so I decided to just go for it.  My internal dialogue went like this:  It's a doll quilt, for Pete's sake, not the Mona Lisa.  And see?  There are seven little white squares to practice seven more daisies on.  I bet by the time we get to daisy number seven, they will look...less craptastic.

And lo, it came to pass.  The End.

No, not the end.  Let me show you the progression.  Here is daisy number one:

She is some tightly wound little thing, huh?  You can probably feel your shoulders tense just looking at it.  But one has to start somewhere.  I originally quilted just one leaf, but then went back at the end of the other daisies and gave her two more because I felt sorry for her.

And here is the last daisy I quilted:

Better.  Again, not perfect, but DONE!

I used a purple and blue dot vintage feed sack in the backing, as well as what I had left of the '30s reproduction fabrics that I'd won in a giveaway at Sew Happy (thanks again, Kristen!).  

I'll probably like it even more after a trip through the washer and dryer—the quilt, not me; I don't need any more agitation! 

*Can you name that tune?  It's lyrics from "All My Life" by the Foo Fighters.  My musical tastes run the gamut from Beethoven—which I quilted to this evening, believe it or not—to yesterday's Glen Campbell song, to heavy metal.  Oddly enough, when I finished this little doll quilt, I felt like rocking to the Foo.  I guess I like a little salty with sweet.  Balance, right?

15 comments:

Larri said...

Congratulations of a job well done...and finished! :o)

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

that is a nice patchwork.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

Sarah Craig said...

I love your daisies - they look great to me!!! Nice finish!!

Karen said...

Congrats! Love the quilt; very sweet. You're doing great with your FMQ...not craptastic at all!

Elizabeth said...

Oh, P.! Your loopy flowers are SO sweet and I love the little leaves you added. You did a really terrific job on that! Hooray for you! Way to knock a Ph.D off the list. You rock!

xo -El

P.S. Have you got any scraps of that fabulous dot you used on the back left? I wonder if we might arrange a trade?

Christina said...

I'm glad you pressed on - it is a lovely little quilt! Your stitching by the end has a nice natural feel to it. Beautiful!

Shay said...

I love it P! I think your daisies look lovely. The whole quilt looks wonderful.

I just bought Mr. P Foo Fighters in Hyde Park for Christmas on DVD . I have a feeling you might like his CD collection...

Conratulations on the finish !

SueWis said...

This is adorable! I think you're doing great on your FMQ. That's what I've been thinking too, lately, just go for it. It's fun and eventually we'll master it, right?

Miri said...

Cute quilt! I can't believe you just free quilted those daisies...when I first saw the quilt I was sure you must have marked them...well done!

I like the Foo Fighters too!

Sarcastic Quilter said...

I like it and even think the free motion quilting is pretty dang good for someone with little experience. Keep at it, I promise you my FMQ looks MUCH wors on my domestic machine. :D

Hooray for a finish!

Anonymous said...

Your daisies are fabulous! I love the colors and the fabrics and...well...everything about this doll quilt!

Pokey said...

Another job well done! I love your quilty flowers, they are great for free motion. I find I usually like the first lines, but to echo over isn't the easiest thing to do. And the prints are just too cute, too. It's a doll quilt to love!

Michelle said...

Oh P, it's fantastic! Those daisies are totally awesome. I love the purple border.

Way to go on getting your first PhD done.

Kristen said...

Nice! I am glad those fabrics worked well! Your quilting is looking amazing!

Angie said...

When I read your song quote I started singing the Jay Z song...don't know if your gamut runs that far! lol