Monday, November 4, 2013

CAN'T COMPETE WITH THE BIG DOGS!!!

I am smart enough to know that I am not a  Judi Madsen from Green Fairy Quilts, Leah Day, or any of the wonderful quilters out there but.....in my own way I wanted to share with you some of the quilting on this "Tree of Life" quilt.

 I put some religious symbols in this quilt because "The Tree of Life" is very much mentioned in the Bible.
 For those of you who are not Mormons' it is mentioned in the "Book of Mormon".

 Now...I had thought to apologize for the religious tone to this post but then I got to thinking....my religion is what makes me who I am, you whether you believe in a God or not, that is who you are and is your right.


Here is a picture of the Savior.....



 I was asked how I did this.

 I used the straight stitch on my Pfaff quilt expression 4.0.  I drew with the frixon pen on some tissue paper.  I pinned the paper where I wanted the picture and just went to town.
  Now....once I got going  I learned that I should remove the pins where I could because this only caused the tissue paper to tare in places that I didn't want.
In some places it looks like small knots, it isn't, that is just the tissue paper that I can't get out but will either wear away or wash out.  I guess I could take some tape and rub across it.

Here is the Angel Moroni, he stands on every Mormon Temple.

Some swirls...you know I love swirls
I guess you can call this feathering?
Hearts???
This is a bad picture but did some small swirls between the rays

This is one of my favorites to do as well.

The Golden question is

Do I have the quilt done yet?

I am hanging my head in shame...doing the shame walk.....

NO>>>NO>>>NO

I have procrastinated, I am bored with it, tired of it....can't pull the trigger.  All I have to do is go in my room and put the last border on and bind it..that is it....that has been it for a week now.

I did go and do extra quilting in it this last week but it has sat for days after that.

Won't someone come over and keep me company while I make the last plunge in getting it done and out of my home?  Begging here!!!

31 comments:

JustCindy said...

Barb, I think it is great and I love how you quilted the Savior and the angel on to the quilt. You go, Girl! Now turn on your favorite CD and rock the rest of the quilt out.

Linda said...

Your quilt is amazing. Your quilting is wonderful! I can't come over but I can encourage you to get it finished up so you can post your completed quilt. I have a quilt that I have been handquilting forever, and it just needs to get done, I will work on mine, if you work on yours, and we can both post a finish.

Wendy said...

The "Tree of Life" is mentioned in my Bible as well Barbara, although I am not Mormon. And I think it wonderful that you added religious icons to your quilt. What better way to make a statement of who you are in Him. Anyway, I think your quilting is beautiful and you have done a great job of it. Hopefully your mojo for this quilt will hit with a big burst of energy so you can get this one finished and ready for the bed. I cannot wait until you finish so you can post a finished pic of the quilt. Hope you have a great day and I enjoyed your post.

Lynn said...

I'd love to come over and play while you finish this. Alas, I live too far away. I put on a movie when I need some company to get a project done. Maybe this would work for you on this project. When quilting, I usually pick something I've seen a few times so I don't get lost if I don't watch every second.

KaHolly said...

Would if I could!! You are doing a beautiful job! Finish it up and show it off!!

Teresa in Music City said...

I can't compete with the superstar quilters either Barb, but that doesn't mean I'm not very happy with my simple little quilting projects. Yours is wonderful and very creative! As for religion, I believe we should all be able to express our beliefs and our thoughts freely on our own blogs. Those who have no tolerance for anything other than their own beliefs and thoughts are free to read something else!

Anonymous said...

HI, oh the swirls are so neat! I'm a beginner FMQer+I want to do swirls so much like yours! More practice,I suppose. Thanks for sharing again! (Little pat for Smitty+Gracie)

msstitcher1948@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Barb, can you forgive me about the 'Smitty+Gracie remark' > I thought I was at 'Cat Patches' blog! She is named Barb,but she's not you!
HAPPY STITCHING!

msstitcher1948@yahoo.com

Jackie's Stitches said...

You're doing so good with the quilting on this Barb! I've always thought you were very accomplished with quilting your own quilts!

Jacqueline said...

Great quilting... You will get er done... if for no other reason than you want to move on to other things.. I have faith in you.

Wacky Woman said...

Oooooo, I love your quilting with meaningful expression. Lovely. I love machine quilting. I find myself thinking about how I will quilt it while I am putting the top together.

SewCalGal said...

Oh how I'd love to come over and sit with you while you do your final "and beautiful" free-motion quilting on your tree of life quilt. While logistically not possible, we could give skype a try while we are all in our sewing rooms. Like a virtual sew-cial and support group!

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

barb said...

Just think about the feeling of accomplishment you will feel when you put in that last stitch!! I agree with you about religion, never ever be ashamed or feel like you have to apologize for your beliefs. After all isnt the talent and skill we have to make one of a kind quilts a GOD given talent that we are blessed with? Barbara

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Your quilt and quilting is lovely Barb! Looks excellent to me.

Vickie said...

It's beautiful, can't wait to see it finished. I've got a few to bind too and it is hard to get it done. I love your quilting its beautiful!

Gene Black said...

Absolutely, your beliefs make you who you are. I feel that if I can't speak from my heart on my blog, then I should just close it down. I think you did a great job.
May I suggest some wash away stabilizer (typically used for machine embroidery) to draw on and use like you did the tissue paper. I think it would be easier to use.

Needled Mom said...

Your quilting is brilliant and symbolic as well as beautiful. I wish I could come to help, but I'm a bit far.

Ivory Spring said...

Very creatively done, Barb! Very nice.

hetty said...

I love what you have quilted!

QuiltSue said...

I'd love to come and keep you company, but it's rather a long journey from the UK.

andsewon said...

Tad too far to drop in for a bit of sewing but sending good vibes from VA! You rock the quilting as far as I am concerned! Looks wonderful! I need to practice more!!
Will be one very NICE quilt!

Lorene Holbrook said...

I think you are doing a great job! I think it is wonderful that you share your beliefs. because we are Mormon I think we worry if we share. You go girl!!!! you did great! can't wait to see the whole thing! love your blog!

Jacquelynne Steves said...

Don't feel bad- we've all been there. For some reason, I also always run out of steam when a project is close to finished. I have no idea why!

barbara woods said...

look's great , i couldn't do that good

Snoodles said...

I'm all for expressing our faith and who we are....and if you have skype, I'm with SewCalGal, let's have a "bee" on skype and all work together! :)

sandra said...

We don't need to compete with anybody we are perfect in our own way. I just love the beautiful quilting you did. I will be waiting with bated breathe to see the.finished quilt (and I don't have much breathe right now). I am starting second go around with Bronchritis.

Linda said...

No apologies necessary, you are who you are and we love that about you. Your quilting is beautiful and you will finish it. It doesn't matter how long it takes. We are quiltmakers not guiltmakers! We don't need anybody to make us feel guiltier than we do ourselves....

Lynette said...

Hey, Barb! Did you sit down and work on that last border yet? ;D I'd come over for a quilt fest in a heartbeat if we were near each other. I love what you've done here. The portrait quilting is terrific. And don't apologize for letting your religion show on your own personal blog - there's nothing wrong with that at all! I'm not religious, and there's nothing offensive about what you're showing. It's rather neat. And even if someone like me did take offense, all they have to do is close the window. So no worries - be yourself. :D And keep sharing your quilting. It's lovely and inspirational.

StitchinByTheLake said...

Beautiful Barb! I love the tissue paper idea....wonder if you could use a glue stick in just a critical spot or two to hold it down instead of pins? blessings, marlene

Jake said...

I use masking tape to tape my tissue paper down for elegant motifs that can't be done Free motion...if it is a large piece, just tear little holeS in it and tape additionally in the blank spots. Works like a champ for fairies and other such details! I've gotten better at FMQ and do not use tissue paper as much but at one time, I did ALL my quilting with tissue paper. Good luck!

Jake said...

If you go this route, be careful! This crap is a sticky mess! I tried it once and didn't like it a bit.