If Your Only Tool Is a Hammer…

Most of my sewing time this weekend was devoted to the Modern Quilt Guild’s Riley Blake Basics Challenge. The fat quarters were distributed around September, and I got right to work. (Blogged about it here.)  I set it aside till I could practice Free Motion Quilting because I had “plenty of time.”

No longer do I have plenty of time, and I didn’t get enough practice to feel comfortable with FMQ on the whole quilt, so out came the walking foot. Straight line quilting couldn’t take too long, could it? Three days later, I decided it could.

And a better shot of the quilting

What added the time was my decision that I didn’t want gray thread on the yellow or orange prints. After I spent eons trying to figure out a continuous line route, I decided it was impossible. Actually I spent less time with the stops and starts and hiding the knots than I spent trying to avoid them.! Next time I won’t think so long (though it is always good to do as much without a thread break as possible–in case my non-quilter friends want to know what’s the big deal).

I still have some time, though not plenty, so I will practice pebbles and do FMQ in the empty triangles and in the big aqua block. I seem to have the best luck with the pebbles design of my FMQ repertoire, so it is good that it is the one I want. (Or is it a case proving the African proverb: If your only tool is a hammer, all your problems look like nails.????)

Linking up with Design Wall Monday and WIP Wednesday (button to right)–check out other peoples’ projects.