Sunday 30 September 2018

OMG September Plus/minus is finished!

https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2018/09/one-monthly-goal-september-finish-link.html


https://prettypiney.com/faux-flange-binding-tutorial/


My goal for September was to finish my plus and minus quilt, that should have been finished by the end of August as my response to the Dutch MQG theme challenge for July and August. However, at the end of August it looked like this with just the top right corner quilted:


I'm happy I finished it yesterday, and can post this at the eleventh hour.


 The pluses are improvised blocks joined with filler (background) fabric into four 12" squares and then joined; the minuses I made in the quilting, along with some ghost pluses. My idea was, and still is, plus is visible, grabs the attention while the negative is in the background, less visible, but present nevertheless. The ghost pluses represent a no-man's land, an area of doubt and indecision.

close up showing two ghost pluses and a minus

Now I'd like to ask for some advice. Does anyone know how to remove chalk lines? The photo below shows what's left of my quilting guide-lines in 'Sewline' pink chalk. I have rubbed them with fingers, the eraser on the end of the 'pencil' and a clothes' brush, and still they're there. I don't want to heat or wet them in case that fixes them completely. Any hints or experience with chalk would be most welcome.
 
pink chalk guide-lines still visible after A LOT of rubbing!
Quilting this 24"x24" quilt has been all the sewing I've done this month. The quilting lines are 0.25" apart, and that takes forever! This is the last time that I do straight line quilting with shapes I have to go round, as this was a stop-start exercise from start to finish. But the finish was not the real finish:



burying threads and trimming them took two hours!

Last month I won a $25 voucher for the Fat Quarter Shop and received this package 10 days after ordering.

Thank you, Patty, for pulling my name out of the hat last month and to the Fat Quarter Shop for giving a prize. I chose this bundle because winter is drawing in, and I'm planning on alleviating the pending greyness with some fabric sunshine.


Finally another early morning picture of the plus and minus quilt.

The sun was obliquely to my right and slightly in front and I just couldn't get the exposure right. Of course I was breaking the first rule of photography: "NEVER take a photo into the sun," but rules are made to be broken, aren't they?

 I'm linking up to 

https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2018/09/one-monthly-goal-september-finish-link.html

https://prettypiney.com/faux-flange-binding-tutorial/

 (A bit late; I missed TGIFF last week)

 To see many more goals achieved click on the buttons above.

Enjoy Autumn (not to forget Spring in the Southern Hemisphere) while you can.

Happy sewing

Marly.

9 comments:

Julierose said...

Loving your crosses/pluses --really nice variations...gives you a really clean appearing quilt with the white backgrounds...lovely work hugs, Julierose

Patty said...

Love the way you quilted this quilt! And congrats for winning last month! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish.

PaintedThread said...

The quilt looks great! I'll be curious about the advice for the chalk. I'd probably try wetting it, but I can understand why you've shied away from that. I hope it comes out! Love the color of your winnings!

Vireya said...

Love your quilt! It is a beautiful finish.

As for the chalk, it might depend on exactly which marker it was. I used a pink ceramic marker on one quilt that didn't completely disappear with the built-in eraser. But once the quilt was washed there was no sign of the pink. Since then I've used chalk that brushes off, because I don't always want to have to wash a quilt to get rid of marks.

Sharon - IN said...

What a great little quilt. Love that the Plusses are all greens. Congrats on your win!

Sandy Panagos said...

Love your plus/minus quilts. The green is really cool. That's serious dedication burying all those threads, but well worth it when you look at the completed project.

Lisa J. said...

It's a beautiful finish Marly and I love how you quilted it. It must have taken quite some time. Great that you managed to squeeze it in before the deadline....and congratulations on your win. That lovely orange fabric should keep you cheerful during the winter.

Jayne said...

I love your quilt! That kind of quilting does take a long time, but it's worth the effort and time in my opinion! I hope the chalk lines come out! I usually was my quilts and that takes care of it for me. Beautiful none the less!

Becca Fenstermaker said...

Oh my, that's BEAUTIFUL. And your quilting labor was worth every buried thread, because the results are perfect.

I wish I had some advice for the pink chalk, but can you mark up some scrap fabric with it and experiment?

Thanks for linking up to TGIFF!