Bella on Graffiti

This is my entry in the Cats on Quilts category for the Pets On Quilts Show at Lily Pad Quilting.  It's so much fun.  Lara and I cemented our friendship over Olive, her daughter's pibble; as did Judy and I over the Nugs last year.  It's a great way to meet other quilters, and be amazed at how alike our fur kids are when it comes to all things quilty.  And there are prizes!  Bella won a triangle fabric mousie last year, still has it, still loves it, kicks it to death and bites it on a regular basis.

You've seen my Graffiti quilt once before, but it wasn't bound, and I wasn't sure exactly what I would do with it.  Well, I decided to take it for Show 'n Tell to this past Tuesday's guild meeting, so I had to bind it.  Of course, when I laid it down on the floor to take a picture, this happened:

Not as big as I normally require, Sandra...

Hmm...

If I can just grab this side, maybe I can roll myself up in it...

and then, "Well, since she's got that black thing in front of her face, I may as well strike a pose..."

Note the one foot angled out with pointed toes - this is a new one

Like most quilters with cats, they have to get involved in every step of the process, from pulling out fabric, to lolling about on the finished product.  Ahem, or in the finished product:

Or making sure your 1/4" seams are precise, (note the one squinty eye just to eagle kitty-eye that seam):

Great vantage point, and besides I look SO utterly adorable, she'll finally pay me some attention

But back to the Graffiti quilt.  I've had two spots where my Avanté hiccups or bobbles since we set it up for the 10' table (the person I bought it from had it at 6').  I was also suddenly having some tension issues as well.  In order to solve the problems, I threw in some muslin to try out Karlee Porter's Graffiti quilting, with various threads, and to find exactly where the bobbles occurred so my husband, "MacGyver", could do the adjusting.  I even got him to quilt a bit so he would feel how it grabbed, or sort of jumped into a kind of rut and then back out.  And thus the Graffiti quilt was born.  We finally were able to get everything nearly tickety-boo, just a teensy little spot where there was a wiggle.

Lots of people commented that I should bind it and hang it in my sewing room, and so I have done.  I used some leftover fabric from my Yoga Mat Bag.  You will never see the back, as some parts ain't so purty as I worked through some tension issues, ripped some, left some.  But I love it, and it serves to show me that I can do this, and I can persevere until I get the right tension and the smoothness I want...and the precision will come with continued practice.  I'll never be as precise as Angela Walters or Gina Perkes (wow) but I also know I'll never be as good a yogi as Kino McGregor or David Robson.  But if I am happy with my results, that's all that matters.

Sewed the binding to the back and machine top-stitched it down on the front with Sulky Holoshimmer in bright green - love the bling!

I've since hung it on my wall, er, plastic vapour barrier in my sewing corner of the basement.

I love it there.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Graffiti quilting practice
Size: 42.25" X 15.5"
Fabric: unbleached muslin front and back, binding is Winter Wonderland by In the Beginning Fabrics
Batting: Warm 'n Natural
Quilted: on my Avanté, Avril
Threads: Floriani Fufu's Rayons, Isacord and Sulky Holoshimmer

Hope you will hop, bound, or sashay (if you're like my diva, Bella), or canter on over to Lily Pad Quilting and check out all the entries.  You can read about my dog on quilt entry featuring Naala here.  You can vote here.  Bella is #34.  Naala is #57.

I will also link up this finish to Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday, TGIFF and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Oooh, in celebration of a million(!!) page views, Sarah is having a pretty sweet giveaway. Better hop over there and check 'er out.

July Goal for ALYOF

I haven't' participated in this shaming, er, encouraging linky party since January when I had my Scraps of Calm as my goal, and succeeded.  Since then, I've been focusing on the quarterly goals list for Adrianne at On the Windy Side...clearing of throat...and not succeeding quite as well. In Q2, of 9 projects, I got 5 finished, one of which was 2 days past the deadline.  I digress.

Here is my project for the month for ALYOF at Sew Bittersweet Designs:

I made my mum this bag from the Premiere Issue, 2005, of Quilts 'n More.  I made myself one, my aunts each one, my sister, a few friends; in short I made a lot of these bags.  My mum has loved and used hers until it literally is falling apart.  I replaced the handles once, but when she was here in May, she said she really could use a new one.  A good friend of mine bought this fabric for me to use in a quilt for my mum, but I found a different one I liked more, which I used and made for her 70th birthday.  This has sat on the shelf since.  So it is now going to grow up into the outside of the new bag.  I have to go shopping in my stash for a lining and maybe a contrasting band as per the pattern...maybe not.  Anyhow, I hope to get this done asap, since I know how often she uses the other (or maybe she can't now with it falling to shreds...) At 10 years old, I'd say she got her use out of it!

In other news, I got my fabric all cut for Part 1 of Cheryl's Mystery Quilt.

Looking good...

 Saw these on my walk with Rocco the other day, known as trumpet vine.  Stunning.

subconsciously they might have been the inspiration for this mystery quilt colour

Breath-taking for sure, they climb up poles 30 feet into the air.

Yesterday MacGyver and I tackled the bobbles/jumps in the track on Avril.  He got one pretty much gone, yay.  Of course, I had to load some muslin to find the exact spots, and also so he could run the machine (yep!  I got him to quilt something!) to get the exact feel of how sudden a jump/grab it can be.  We ran diagnostics too.  I got my Karlee Porter on (always wanted to play with her graffiti quilting style).

I looked at pictures of her stuff for inspiration.  Some are based on her designs, tried Kathleen's swirls with pebbles (I call them bracelets), and even invented a few of my own motifs, "QUILT" bubble letters, and the two pale blue semi-circular motifs, tried some zentangle, did some feathers, and Angela's flame feather...just had fun...well not all the time. I had major tension issues and spent 40 minutes ripping all the green.  Found that the needle was jammed in really tight for some reason (Mac to the rescue with his pliers to pull it out, that was weird; don't recall hitting anything) and then I found a thread of the rayon in the bobbin area somewhere...actually it kinda "appeared" when I was brushing it out really really good... Popped in a new bobbin of The Bottom Line, and away we went.  I'm still not totally pleased with my precision, but I have to slap that perfectionist witch down, right?  What am I doing with this, 18X40" piece?  No clue.  Maybe bind it and pin tack it onto the wall in my basement corner.

Finally I got the quilt-on-feet shot of my Auntie Phyl's quilt, Blue Ribbon Stars, this afternoon with the sun on it so hopefully some of the quilty crinkly goodness will show now that it's been washed and dried.  I'm having a very hard time letting this baby go... which is a good sign, I know.

Linking up at Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.  Lots of great quilty ideas there.  Like I need more...I have to write my Q3 FAL post yet with that list!