Quilting the Mosaic Sailboat Quilt

Yesterday I finished piecing the backing for the Mosaic Sailboat quilt, then pieced together enough batting for it, and loaded everything on my frame.  I cleaned and oiled my machine (HQ16), threaded it, and got the tension just right.  By then it was a quarter ’til eleven, so I quit for the night.  The overhead lighting above my frame is not very good, and it’s a bit difficult to see when one is quilting with dark thread on dark fabric at night.  I need to get a light bar to go over it!

Since my quilting frame is in the front part of our walkout basement, and there is a patio door and a big window in the front wall and a smaller window to the side, it’s well illuminated during daylight hours. 

Today I started quilting.  First the border... and then...  the mosaic part.  All those little squares on the fusible gridded Pellon, with the multitude of seams.  Would the HQ16 be able to handle it?  And if not, what would I do about the Mosaic Lighthouse quilt?  This smaller sailboat quilt, after all, is my practice piece so that I can find out if the machine will quilt through quilt top, Pellon, batting, and backing.

Well, it did!  It did, it did, it did.  It handled this thick, dense quilt like a trouper.  I’m happy and relieved!

<running to end of doghouse...  swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet swing feet>

I’m taking it slow and easy, so as not to break thread or needle, or, worse yet, throw the machine out of timing, and guiding the machine is a bit of a chore; but it’s quilting it – and with perfect thread tension, too.  Wheeeee!!!  I did have to raise the hopping foot two full swivels, but the hardest part about that little job was blundering around in Larry’s none-too-clean toolbox for the right size of crescent wrench.  I never did find one small enough; so I used one of those plier clampy things ----- oh! – it’s a vise grip, isn’t it? --- instead.

Some of my curves were not as 'curvaceous' as they should be when I first began, until I found that I had to really get a grip on the handlebars and steer this thing where I want it to go, when it’s traveling over all the seams on the Pellon.  But... the fabric is busy enough that (I hope) the uncurvy curves won’t show much.  And, after all, this is my ‘practice piece’! 

The next thing I need to know is, will it drape, is it usable as a bed quilt, or must it of necessity be a wall hanging?  Determining that issue will be the deciding factor in whether or not I add nautical blocks to the sides of the Lighthouse quilt for the ‘hang’ at the sides of the bed – or just put a couple of borders on it and call it done. 

Here's what's done on the sailboat quilt so far: