Snowball Night: One Down, One to Go

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. -Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

I finished my first Rainbow Sherbet snowball quilt. I cut it pretty close, but it was done and wrapped so that I was just on time for my sister's wedding shower yesterday! After I finished the top, I wasn't feeling the love but now that it is all done, I'm really happy with how it turned out and can't wait to get going on it's twin so I can have one too!

I was pretty nervous about the machine quilting. I got lots of support and words of encouragement, which helped a lot.

Michelle's comment was so sweet! She said, stippling is really very forgiving, and your snowball quilt is so bright and cheery that every one will be focusing on the pieced design rather than the stippling. You'll do fine.

P.'s advice was really helpful and something I know to be true. After you do it and leave it for a day or so and look at it again, you'll think, wow, that's not bad!

But my favorite bit of advice was from Mrs. Pyjamas, who said, Close your eyes and start to stipple. If you jump I'll jump.

I only have one question. Am I Jack or Rose?

I got lots done while I was procrastinating the machine quilting, but was running out of time so I just had to get over myself and do it. This is what the stippling looked like with my eyes closed. Pretty craptastic.

After a while, I kind of got into a groove and I wasn't so panicky about how fast that needle was going up and down. I did have a few spots where I overlapped lines a bit, but overall, it wasn't so scary as I thought it would be. The stitching in this block was particularly pretty to me. I guess it was helpful to open my eyes.

I'm not a big gotta-get-the-quilt-in-the-wash-right-after-it-is-finished kind of quilter. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I always take my quilts to the long arm quilter and they come back so beautiful that I hate to lose any of that detail or the smooth pressed look of the fabric in the wash. But my machine has some malfunction and I got a bit of machine grease in a few spots and so after it was bound, I put it in to wash. I figured that eventually it was going to have to be washed anyway, and so it might as well be now. That way my sister wouldn't see how different it was after it came out of the wash – washed would be the only way she ever saw it. As I was putting it into the machine, all I could think was, do you know how many hours I spent starching and pressing this thing? But as it turns out I loved how this particular quilt came out. It was all bumpy and wrinkly and cozy and soft and all of the quilting mistakes were hidden. I think that was my favorite part.

And this is my favorite part of the quilt, the baby snowballs on the back. As I was working on them I wondered if it was worth all the trouble, but I totally love how they came out.

My sister was so cute when I gave it to her. She said, I love blankets!

Here's another shot of her with the quilt. Cute, no? {The girl, not the quilt.} My instincts in the beginning were right about making two of these quilts. I feel like something is missing today and then I remember it is the quilt. I totally want it back {despite my lukewarm feelings towards it after the top was finished}. It's a good thing that I have another one all cut out and waiting for me to work on.

It was really fun to try something new with the artsy shots of the quilt. They are much more interesting to look at than a full shot of the quilt hanging on my fence. But admit it. You really want to know what the whole thing looks like. Don't worry. I've got you covered. The finished size is 51½-ish" x 68-ish". I measured it before I washed it and it shrank more in the width than the length. I thought that was interesting.

For some really amazing other finishes this week, click on the buttons below.