Q & A

Since my last post generated a couple questions, I figured I'd do a follow-up post on the LNP quilt.

Carrie asked if I'd thought to send out my quilt to be quilted. The answer is yes, I thought of it. I did have one quilt professionally quilted. While I loved the results, the hit on my pocketbook was less popular. Ten years ago, I spent over $100 to have a twin quilt done and I'm not sure I have the budget available to pay to have a queen-sized quilt done at today's prices.

I have quilted queen-sized quilts on my domestic machine before and am certain I can do it again. I just need to start working out in advance and build up some upper body strength and endurance before tackling it. Or not . . . There is something to be said for the sewing machine as a piece of fitness equipment.

Livnletlrn asked why I chose paper-piecing for this log cabin quilt. While she is correct that paper-piecing is often used for odd shaped patterns and blocks and is especially good for blocks that require sewing many bias edges, I find that I like the stability and accuracy that paper-piecing gives me. Since fabric is such a flexible medium to work in, with a certain amount of stretch and give, I get quickly frustrated with blocks that don't match up properly and develop wavy edges. Paper is not stretchy and insures that the edges of the blocks are all exactly the same length, making it easy to get perfectly joined and matching corners. I am sure most of you know by now that I can be a bit obsessive/compulsive about perfection and paper-piecing gives me additional control over the fabric.

There is a down side, of course. While super accurate fabric cutting is not necessary initially, paper piecing does require trimming and pressing after each piece is added to the block. This is why sewing the log cabin blocks was so time consuming. So the time I saved by rough cutting the fabric is lost in the construction process. There is also a significant amount of fabric waste involved. Because I bought many different fabrics and extra yardage because I didn't have a pattern picked out in advance, this wasn't an issue for me on this quilt.

I also had a question about Dancing Diva's costume. Rani asked if it was for competition or for the annual recital that our studio puts on. It is for both. She will be performing her competition piece in the recital, along with all the other competitive dancers.

I also wanted to take the time to thank everyone for their compliments on Dancing Diva's costume and all the other projects I post about. Everyone is so nice about my work and I do want you to know I appreciate every sweet compliment I receive.

Koda has spent a lot of time in this position of late. I'm not sure if she is watching some wildlife out there or just waiting for signs of spring. I know I am longing for a peek at my spring bulbs and flowers. Since today's temperature is going to be significantly above freezing, maybe there is hope that this layer of snow will disappear and we can get some COLOR around here. I have that gardening spring fever - bad!

All together now, COLOR, COLOR, COLOR . . .