Basting Christmas Stars
Basting
I pin baste and Christmas Stars for a New Day is the second largest quilt I’ve ever quilted. 30 years ago, I basted my largest quilt (96”x108”) on the floor. This one I’m doing in three segments on our dining room table.
My dad would kill me if he saw me using the dining room table, but two things:
Many things (like a dining room table) are meant to be used not revered, and
Mostly I value experiences over things.
Toothpicks taped to the dining room table so I can feel the horizontal and vertical center through the layers.
Everything looks and feels straight so far.
It used to amaze me how my frequently my math skills helped me when quilting - now I’m also amazed at how home remodeling tools help. =)
Everything still looks and feels straight. Time to pin baste the first third!
It was pretty easy to unclamp and gently slide the quilt to one side so I could pin baste the second third. However, the unbasted final third bunched a bit on the floor. Sliding the quilt back the other direction to baste the final third was a bit more challenging - but I got it done!
Stabilizing
Most of my quilting is done in three layers: stabilizing, design, and background fill.
Stabilizing (mostly unnoticeable ditch quilting so I can remove all or most of the basting pins) is not the most exciting layer. However, it often gives me time to imagine and ponder the main quilting designs - and that’s very fun.
uh-oh!
I started Christmas Stars 12 years ago and its pieces and parts have been placed into project boxes and taken back out many times - perhaps I was a little rough with it. Or more likely: I unstitched part of it to reposition the seam allowances and didn’t restitch it. That would be more like me.
Time for some hand-stitched repair work.
And the ditch quilting was getting a little boring. I decided to do some stabilizing with scrollwork in metallic glitter thread.
Bowling
Saturday is Arizona’s state Senior Open tournament and I get to bowl with a big-time national touring pro on my team. We’re doing team, doubles, and singles all in one day. Wish me luck!
Next Time
Goal: get all of the stabilizing done on Christmas Stars - maybe start some of the main design quilting. Perhaps I’ll get enough quilting done so we can see how well-centered the back is.
I also have to get some planning done for my January through April classes.
Quilt your way!