walk along

Yesterday I had lots of time to sew.  I spray basted my quarter log cabin quilt and thought I'd make some good progress quilting it.  Instead I spent the day trying to hold onto 59,000 comments, while fixing the disappearing comments field on this blog.  Around midday I'd had enough.  I installed a new, more-reliable commenting platform that cleared all my past comments.  All 59,000 of them.  Every. one. 

Fortunately, I had to tweak one little setting to make the new commenting platform work.  And that got me wondering if that setting had also been causing the problem for the built-in Squarespace comments....  So, I reverted to the original comments platform and lo and behold all the comments were back.  Phew!  And, even better, the comments field seems to be displaying for everyone who has checked, every time.  Happy Dance!!! 

Please, please, please be fixed for real.  Please.  I'm crossing my fingers and toes.  But, if you do not see a comments field on this post, can you please let me know via email (use the envelope icon in the footer)?  The last thing I want is you thinking I don't want to hear from you.  That's never the case!   Never, never.  Even if I have to lose 59,000 comments, I will have a comments field. 

What were we talking about?  Quilting?

I recently purchased Walk:  Master Machine Quilting with Your Walking Foot by Jacquie Gering.  I can always use pointers to improve my quilting, as well as ideas for new designs.  Jacquie's book has been great on both points.  I'm taking her advice to heat set my basting spray before quilting and using a long piece of masking tape to establish a straight reference line on the quilt. 

I think most any quilter would benefit from some time with Walk, if only for all the creative and seemingly do-able quilting design ideas.  Designs are separated into sections including:  lines, gentle curves, marked curves, reverse and turning designs.  I am intrigued by the concept of using the reverse straight stitch to create cool quilting patterns.  It really expands the possibilities of designs I might enjoy, since I avoid having to make large rotations of a throw quilt, even in my large harp space.

I chose a design Jacquie calls "reverse tulips" and admits looks also like an arrow.  I'm glad to report it's been fun!   I completed one line this morning while baby was playing happily on a quilt in my sewing room.  But then we began making eyes at each other over the edge of my sewing table. 

How am I supposed to keep quilting with that little face peaking up at me, directly across from my machine?  Oh, that's right - I'm not!  Hehe.  Playtime, then naptime, then mama's playtime. 

Have a happy Saturday!