Christening quilt in progress

I haven’t been hanging around much in my sewing room lately for obvious reasons, but one quilt is in progress, and almost right on schedule.
I have been planning a family quilt for the new baby for a while, and asked our family to draw themselves. Collecting the portraits has not been such an easy task as you would think. Unless you ask children, drawing ourselves it not something we usually do, is it, and I’m not talking about anything fancy, a simple line drawing, or a pair of glasses on the simple face shape I sent out with the letters would be perfect.

Anyhow, the background is almost finished. 2 ½” wide fabric strips (leftover from mother’s quilt) pieced together and with a 6” wide space with room for name and birth date;

straight line quilting in progress with Sulky thread. I love how the colour variations in the thread make the top sing.

I was working with the portraits yesterday, trying to get them sort of even sized and printed onto fabric. I was smiling all the time because the drawings are so wonderful. A few have been drawn by others, but most of my loved ones' faces are right here on my computer. Everything looked good; the fabric printouts mostly successful, so I packed them up to take to my sewing group last night.

Sewing with my friends is always enjoyable. Fusible on - check; faces cut out - check; fused onto red felt - check; appliquéd with a borrowed appliqué foot and thread that broke all the time even though I rethreaded the machine and changed the needle twice thank you very much - check; threads secured and cut off – check; finished - check; most of them looking good - check.

When I came home I spread them out on the background; waiting for that oh, how cool-moment. Hang on a minute. They are too big. Do not look good. 2 ok, 18 need to be redone. Oh c…!

So this morning I am back on my computer, resizing 18 pictures, adding a few lines to those that came out almost invisible. I am almost ready to start printing again, crossing my fingers that I won’t run out of printer fabric. Or fusible. Or red felt. Or patience. It looks like the christening will be moved 4 weeks so I will have plenty of time to do it all over again. Small mercies and all that.

Have a wonderful Thursday! I have some drawing to do – like my own portrait for the quilt…