The Devil in the Details

Not a great week quilting wise.  I worked way too many hours this week.  Which meant I was tired and frustrated by the time I got home. Which is not a good combination for quilting.  So once again most of my work was down on the weekend. And it was not a smooth quilting weekend.

I got off a tiny bit early on Friday and started planning out the quilting for Viri's quilt.  I was going to do a fairy panto but soon realized that the panto wouldn't work with the quilt pattern.  I went through all of the digital quilting patterns that I had and couldn't find one I liked.  So onto the computer and looked for a pattern to download.  I went to the Intelligent Quilting web site and found a couple of designs I liked. It was at this point that I realized that I needed to purchase the winzip program that came as a free trial on my laptop.  That "free trial" was a detail I had missed.

Finally I was able to down loaded the programs and put them on a thumb drive. Now I have ordered from Intelligent Quilting before and had no problem with the programs. Quilt path opened all of the programs just fine. This time however it didn't. It was like the program wasn't on the thumb drive. I checked and it was.  I was so frustrated.  I did some searching and realized that the files weren't in the right format. 

You see each computerized system has their own format. I had mistakenly thought that I needed a QLI format.  The QLI format is for Statdler Stitcher. I have Quilt Path which is a GPF format.  I hadn't paid attention to what format I needed or even if the programs came in that format. Details are important.  Most of the websites include several formats in the down load.  All of the ones I got in the past had GPF formats as well as QLI. Another small detail I missed.

I contacted the web site to see if the 6 or so patterns I had bought could be converted to GPF.  I didn't want to have wasted my money. But I also knew that I wouldn't have the right format in time to quilt this weekend. So I went looking for another website.  I found My Creative Stitches.  On their site, I found a similar pattern to the one I got on Intelligent Quilting.  The website said you got all the formats and so I went ahead and purchased a couple I wanted.  Guess what? They didn't had GPF formats.  I later discovered that they listed what formats they supplied on their "about us" page.  Another email was sent and I was was completely discouraged.

I swear I remembered being told that I could use different formats in Quilt Path.  So I opened up my quilting laptop to see what I could discover, only to realize I needed to finish registering the quilt path installation on the laptop.  I was finally able to do that. The program would work just fine now.  After playing around in Quilt Path and getting more frustrated I resorted to actually reading the manual. There was my answer. right there in the manual. Under the directions for "plug ins".  I was able to open the pattern and then save it to a GPF format.  I was so pleased.

So lessons learned this week:

1. Pay attention to "free trials" on your computers. If you are going to use them just go ahead and buy them.
2. Know what format you need. In my case it is GPF. but fortunately I can get around that.
3. Know what you are buying.  If I had paid attention I wouldn't have been frustrated.
4. Read your manuals. You may very well be able to use other formats. 

I managed to get Viri's quilt done but that is a story for another week.  I need to send a couple of emails and let those website know I don't need the GPF format after all.

Have a good week and read your manual.

Still Plugging Along

It's been a busy week. Lots going on at work and home. The backing for Viri's quilt sat draped over the backing roller until Friday.  I worked late most nights and then came home and made dinner. But the quilt is now on Millie and ready to start quilting.  I probably would have started it but my daughter and grand kids were here and well, we have talked about priorities.

While they were here, Rorie, my 3 year old granddaughter, helped me get all the thread ends buried on the Christmas Lemonade quilt.  I had left them to bury at the end of quilting. Not a mistake I am going to make again.  It is a lot easier to bury them as you go.  Rorie helped me find all of the ends and would pick up my needle threader every time I dropped it. But the thing she did, that she felt was the most important, was to get all the threads off my clothes. Apparently it bothers her to see me covered in threads.  My kids would just let me go out in public that way. But not Rorie. She is very handy with a lint roller.

I also got the Christmas Lemonade quilt trimmed up and ready for binding.  I may just get that sewn on this week. I can turn it and hand sew it down while watching TV. 

Once again I managed to go into a quilt shop and not buy anything.  That is the second time I've done that. I went to Sew Blessed Quilts on Friday afternoon.  I had taken my car in for service and it was only a short distance to the quilt shop. So I dropped in. I had a nice chat with the woman that was there.  I also saw a jelly roll and layer cake in a fabric line I liked. It was the grunge stars.  Very pretty. I may have to buy it.

So obviously I am not going to get the two girls quilts done before I go visit at the end of the month. Just over two weeks before I leave.  I could do it if I wasn't working but alas, I do enjoy that paycheck. There is something about being able to pay your bills and not having creditors calling that is rather pleasant.

Any way I am still making progress even if it is slow going. How are your projects coming along?

Progress and Quilt Owners

At last I feel like I've made some progress on this quilt. 

It has been two weeks since I last posted.  I wish I could say I was busy stitching away during the past two weeks but the truth is I did very little sewing until this past Friday.  I have been busy at work with my project kicking off. Plus it is getting close to peanut season.  So things are ramping up at work.  Then add to it my husband has been home for the past couple of weeks and I have been spending time with him.  And then there is the fact that since I am the first one home, so I get to cook dinner, do dishes, and laundry. Plus pack lunches and do the bills. This house wife thing is cutting into my sewing time. Starting to feel a little empty nest syndrome even though two adult children are still at home.

Friday, I had to leave work early because they were using cleaning chemicals outside my office.  Since my work was done, my day got to be short.  I came home, did dishes, mixed up a batch of bread and took a nap.  Then I started sewing.  I got the last two rows sewn onto the quilt. Saturday I got the inner border on before heading to church for an activity.  Today I got the outer border on and the binding made. Progress at last.

With the binding made and ready to go, I just need to focus on the back. I have the fabric so it is just a matter of cutting and piecing the back.  I should be able to get it on Millie this week. I hope to quilt it next Saturday. It won't be done in time for our trip but I will get the two of them done for Christmas.

I finally decided that this is Viri's quilt. Hence the pink border.  As I was looking at the fabric for the second quilt I realized it has more pastels in it.  Viri is definitely not a pastel personality.  She like her mother is rather bold.  So she gets the quilt made of bolder colors.

Have you ever started a quilt for one person and realize it is really for someone else?  I know that has happened to me before. Sometimes quilts dictate who they should be for such as Viri's quilt. Sometimes you are thinking about that person so much while you are making it that it comes to represent that person to you.  That was the case with the friendship braid quilt I gave to Killian.  Sometimes you just realize that a person needs it, as in the small rail fence quilt I gave to my brother.

I am not sure just how quilts claim owners but I do know that there are times that they do.  I guess it is all part of the magic of quilting. Who are you quilting for?