Sunday, November 13, 2011

Sunday Sundry - Vol. 48

I finished quilting the kaleidoscope quilt yesterday (woo-hoo!).  It went pretty well, despite the size.  The center was a little tricky to maneuver in, and that is where I started.  I did a few meanders and—I'm not going to lie—for a brief moment I considered stopping, ripping out my stitches, and calling my local longarm quilter.  But no, I had it basted and we had come this far together, just persevere (so went the self pep talk).  Keep going, keep going, keep going.  And I did.  And it's done.  And I'm glad!  

I am sort of embarrassed to admit I wanted to wimp out, but there it is.  I didn't.  I took courage from friends who told me they or someone they knew had quilted a king size quilt on a regular machine, and this wasn't even that big.  Perhaps it will be an encouragement to someone in a similar situation who doesn't know if they have it in them (you do).

Okay, so here is the latest dilemma.  What kind of binding should I do?  I mean, the backing is a soft custard yellow with multicolored strips from some of the fabrics on the front.  I quilted it in matching yellow thread, which blended well overall.  I was thinking a yellow binding, as I have enough yardage in the custard yellow.  I also have enough of a light pink print (see bottom left block of first picture above).  Otherwise, I'd have to buy fabric (which I'm okay with, if that's what works best), or do a scrappy binding.  But I think there is enough color going on in the quilt that something solid along the edge would be more restful.  Any thoughts?

It's Genetic
My cousin Peggy in Louisiana discovered my blog and was inspired to start her own Pyrex collection.  I am so happy for her!  She recently bought a little hutch at an antique shop for her Pyrex display and sent me a photo.  Isn't it the cutest?

Back in October, I bought a pretty casserole dish and stand, but as it turned out, I already had it.  In fact, there's a picture of it up there in my blog header.  Doh!

This, friends, is when you know your collection might be getting out of hand (and/or your memory faltering).  At any rate, I figured there might be just the right spot for it—on Peggy's shelves.  So I packed it up, along with one of my minis that seemed meant to be together with it, and sent it to my cousin.  She loved it!  I'm so glad!

At the risk of embarrassing both of us further, here is a favorite photo of my cousins, Peggy (on the left), Patsy, and David, along with my sister and I in the pink dresses (I'm on the right).  This photo is from the era that particular Pyrex casserole would have been in circulation.  

Who'da thunk we'd reconnect all these years later swapping Pyrex stories?

Holiday Shopping
I started my Christmas shopping on Friday night.  I even bought myself a little something for the tree, he-he.

How about you, have you started your Christmas list yet?

16 comments:

Peggy said...

OMGosh, P, talk about a time-warp!! Were we ever that young??!!! Thanks again for your sweet gift ... it's center stage of the middle shelf now! :)

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

nope to the Christmas shopping. I really do very little in the line of Christmas shopping anymore. It is just hubby and me at home, the kids would rather just have money it seems and the grandkids have so many toys and things that they do not need more - last year I asked them do they want presents or money to buy what they want and they all said money! I get my mom a gift card from one of her favorite stores as she is on limited income.
On the quilt - I would do a multi-color binding - good job on quilting with your machine - your saved money and did it yourself,
Karen

Ann Marie @ 16 Muddy Feet said...

I would do a scrappy binding on the quilt myself. I started very little shopping for Christmas so far, but I am ready to put the tree up. :D

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

You're cracking me up again with the Twilight stuff:)
I haven't shopped yet, but I have done considerable thinking about it. Does that count?
For the binding, I'd go bold! One of the darker prints or solids maybe. I like the contrast. It will be great no matter what you choose, though.
A big pat on the back for the quilting!!
Nice display, Peggy! I have two sets of the solid colored bowls in the upper right, but the red bowl is missing from both.

Pokey said...

Hey, it takes huge courage to push-pull-roll-shove a big quilt into a regular sewing machine-good for you! I'm happy for such a beautiful quilt finish for you. I would probably choose a darker, bolder color for binding, too, as Vicki just said. It would frame it all nicely.
Love Peggy's little display hutch. Years ago, I had a friend who was parting with her daughter's toy hutch (all wood made), and I talked her into doing the same kinda display in her kitchen. Every time I would visit after that she'd tell me how glad she was she'd kept it...and I was kicking myself, because she was gonna give it to me!
:-}pokey

Jill said...

Love the pic of you and your cousins - looks like you might have been visiting - all in your Sunday dresses and I think I see a purse. So cute!!

And, yes- Christmas shopping has begun!

Shay said...

Haven't done a thing for Christmas so far and I don't know when I will !

Go you for persevering with that quilting. How much do YOU rock?

Unknown said...

You really have done some work on your quilt...good job! Your cousin's little hutch is pretty... In a little while she'll have it filled too! Hugs

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on getting the quilting done! I usually prefer bindings to be darker than the majority of the quilt top, but this one might be the exception. The pale yellow will leave the edges sort of undefined, which works well with the (good!) craziness of the top. (And yes, I just spent 20 minutes playing in EQ7 so I could come up with that opinion!)

Michelle said...

Yay! On getting the kaleidoscope quilt quilted. It looks fantastic. And you did all by yourself! I agree, that probably a plain colored binding as opposed to a scrappy binding is the way to go. I think either yellow or pink would look okay, but I'm partial to yellow. :-)

Cool that you're reconnecting with Peggy through Pyrex!

Christmas shopping...no. But I has started some Christmas quilting.

thea said...

The quilting is amazing! Great job! I would probably go with a darker binding, red or blue.

Elizabeth said...

I'm dying over the Twilight ornament. You've got it bad!

OK, the Kalido quilt. Amazing! Beautiful job with the quilting! Just my 2c, but I think you should do a stripey binding (not cut on the bias). I know JoAnn's sells a rainbow stripey fabric that I think would look really good with your quilt.

That Pyrex is a really pretty design. I think that is the design I dreamed about, only the glass was navy blue instead of white. And it goes really well with that mini!

xo -E

Sarah Craig said...

From the part I can see of your kaleidoscope quilt, it looks like there is some pink in every block - so I'd bind it in some shade of pink, I think.

Love the pic of you as a kid!

MomWaldsPlace said...

Wow, what a fabulous quilt! I vote for the pink binding for a bit of color. As we show off the Veggie Market Quilt for Japan I am constantly in awe of your quilting skills. Yay to you for perservering!

You are just the sweetest duck in the pond, and I am sure your cousin appreciates your thoughtfulness. :)

mary-myneedlethead.blogspot.com said...

Very pretty Quilt, I am scared to machine quilt too, always hand quilt. Tried once and it was a Disaster, but yours looks Great! Hugs, Mary

Kristen said...

Cute picture and OMG my husband would kill me if that went on my tree. He's a keeper. However... I will be emailing a picture of it to a teen that I can live through!