Almost there

I'm almost there ... by there I mean done with my quilting for the year!  I said the other day that I was one quilt behind, well I was wrong.   At the time I was one quilt behind ... now I'm really only one quilt behind.  That is the quilt I am STILL waiting on the thread for!  I received the big king size quilt I was waiting for from my friend, so I'll put that on the frame tomorrow and get working on that while I wait for the thread for the other quilt.

Today I quilted a quilt for a new quilter.  This is her first quilt ... her piecing was fantastic and I can't believe how well she matched all her intersections! 

This is a flannel quilt and the fabric is by Moda ... the flannels are Primitive Gatherings ... so comfy and cozy!  She just wanted a simple stipple ...

I used YLI on the top and Magna Glide magnetic core bobbins in the bobbin.  I love these prewound bobbins.  I think they are a little on the pricey side, even though you get quite a bit on the bobbin because it is prewound, but since the glide is only about $7.70 a cone, it's still quite a bit cheaper to wind my own bobbins.  But I cannot beat the ease, and they perform just amazingly ... they are made so there is no backlash in the bobbin and my machine just purrs with them in.  This quilt was about 50" x 70", and I used almost two bobbins.  You can see they stretch pretty far.  I think I might just stock up on a few different colors a little at a time and build a supply.  The M size bobbins come in a jar of 10 and cost about $10.95.  I have a few colors right now, this dark brown called "brunette", white and a tan color.  I also have used the Superior prewounds, but I really prefer these Magna Glides. 

Talking about thread ... the YLI cotton quilting thread is really inexpensive as far as cotton quilting thread goes.  My only problem with it is that it sheds a lot!  I wind up with this buildup of lint sitting above the whole needle assembly.  I take my brush that I brush the bobbin area out with and brush to get rid of the fuzz when it starts getting out of control ... it doesn't take very long.  I do really like the thread though and it looks very nice on the quilt.  Maybe I'll try a size 19 needle and see if that helps any. 

Tonight we took the dogs and our daughter and went to something called December Nights.  Near the zoo downtown, there is a big area called Balboa Park that houses many different museums, restaurants ... it's a beautiful area that has playgrounds, walkways and theaters as well.  My husband really wanted to go and check it out ... it was so crowded.  With the dogs it is really hard to look around ... Charlie does well in a crowd because he is used to it, but I always have to watch and see if there are other dogs around, as he has a habit of reacting.  The other thing I watch for is people that want to come up and pet him ... he's very handsome and he looks very happy, so people just naturally want to say hi.  What they don't realize is that all dogs are not friendly.  When he's out in a crowd like that, he's on alert; he's very protective and he will react to someone that he thinks is threatening to me.  It was fun, but too many people.  Next year we'll go another night (maybe not Saturday), and leave the dogs at home so we can really relax.  They did get a great walk in because we had to park about a mile away.  It was really cold, and so a brisk walk was invigorating!  We walk the dogs every day ... my husband and I usually take them after dinner and just walk in the neighborhood.  I like to walk at night because I don't have to worry about a lot of traffic (we don't have sidewalks in our neighborhood), and I don't have to worry about encountering other dogs.  It gives my husband and I a chance to chat about our day and whatever else is going on ... not to mention some good exercise!