Welcome to Gaia! ::

Meow meow! These fabrics were too cute to resist. whee I don't know what I'll be doing with this quilt...I guess it'll have to live on my couch or be saved for visitors.

Here is the pattern I'm using: http://www.byannie.com/images/wickedly_easy_quilts_slide.jpg
from http://www.byannie.com/free_patterns.html (it's near the bottom).

Close-up of one of the completed blocks (click for full sized view):


And my current progress:

Actually, I'm a bit further than this--most of the long middle strips are sew in so I've got a bunch of blocks like in the close-up pic above.

I'm really excited about this quilt, it's the first one I've made that wasn't just rows of little squares. whee I figured it was time to try something just a little more challenging and a lot more interesting! I also plan to try machine quilting it instead of hand tying like I've done with the other's I've made. Any advice on this?

Hello, just wandering through and browsing guilds. I actually do have some advice. Look at your local hobby or quilt store for water soluable thread. You can use it to baste or tie your layers together, then you can machine stitch over the top of it and nothing will shift. To remove the water soluable thread, you just soak your quilt in cool water in the bath to disolve your basting stictches.

You can also combine the soaking step with your blocking step. After soaking ou the soulable stitches, I let the soaked quilt nearly dry out, then stretch the slightly damp quilt out onto the carpet ontop of an old sheet and pin it down to block it. When it's completely dry I attack it with some Scotch Guard.

TIPS: When using water soluable thread in your machine, mark your bobbin and main spool with nail polish or enamel. You don't want to mistake it for regular thread and have your quilt unravel. Also, store the water soluable thread in a ziploc to keep it from degrading. If it gets damp from a humid day, the threads on the spool will stick to eachother and gum up your needles.

This water soluable thread sounds like something I thought that I was going to invent one day... thread that goes away for temp stitching... o well. I need to find me some next time I go to the real craft stores...