Stippling in the real world

Up until now, I’ve done my stippling for the Quilt-Along on little quilt “sammies”.  Now the challenge is to see how to make all of that work in the real world…on a real quilt.  It wasn’t quite as easy as I thought it would be.  I put together a table runner made from some cast-off blocks.  I actually liked it and I thought I might donate it to our guild’s silent auction in the fall.  I’m second guessing that idea now!

On the blocks, I tried straight lines once again.  And, once again…not real straight!  And, of course, this block didn’t lend itself to quilting without traveling.  So, once again, I had to wander.  I think I may need a GPS on my machine before this is over!  I just couldn’t find a way to quilt it without starting, stopping or traveling. The blocks don’t look horrible, but they don’t look great, either.  Practice…practice…practice

Here’s a close-up of the stippling on the sashing.  I will admit to being happy with this.  This is the size stippling I’m comfortable with.  I was able to quilt all of it without stopping.  I just had to take a look at the big picture before I started the sashing journey.  I’m pleased with this part.

Here’s the border.  I really don’t like wide stippling, but it was part of the lesson so I did it.  There may be a time when that’s what works best and I want to be prepared for it.  However, I think that the stippling looks a lot like little ghosts.  So, I’m ready for Halloween if nothing else.  “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!”

And, here is the finished product.  I’m thinking I may keep it cuz I really like the thing!  It’s too wide for my hutch top, but I’ll audition it on other tables.  I think I can find it a home.

To quote my grandkids, “I’m not a big fan” of quilt-as-you-go.  Tried it…really didn’t like it.  But I’ll try Leah’s technique because I want to learn.  No knowledge is ever wasted.  Maybe not ever used again  :-)…but not wasted.  And as long as I’m learning, I’m going to pin-baste an applique wall hanging that managed to find its way to top of the UFO pile.  Never pin-basted so this will be an adventure.  Quilting and stippling around applique will be another adventure all together!  I’m feeling like Indiana Jones this week!

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