Celebrating Progress

I normally don't have to celebrate every single step of a quilt -- but considering the number of days I spent working on basting this one (4), I am nearly dancing at the idea of being done with that part of the creating process!

I hope I've pinned enough to really minimize any shifting that might otherwise occur during the quilting process. I tried to keep the pins fairly close, but after a few lines of pins my hands started cramping up and swelling, so I've done my best and I'll just have to quilt very slowly and carefully.

As for what comes next, I have a rough idea what I want to do with most of the quilting. I'm going to keep it fairly simple everywhere I can, but there are a few large open fields of gray that are going to need something more than a simple outline. My batting wants a quilting space of 2-4 inches, so I'll have to come up with something. I'm not sure what I'll be able to come up with that works with the quilt pattern and is accomplish-able on my machine -- and in my remaining time.

Because of the gray back ground, I am hoping to accomplish most if not all of the quilting in a gray thread. I'm not entirely certain how much thread is left on this spool, so I am a little concerned I'll run out before I finish. I may need to focus on quilting the gray fields first so I ensure they are done in the right thread...

I could always go buy more gray if needed, but I do also have this lovely blue option that might work well too.

I think it would work well in some places, but I'm not sold on putting it over the whole quilt. It's nice to have options though, and at the very least this brighter thread might be a fun addition for attaching the binding or concentrating on a few of the accent points.

I'd better pull up a copy of the top and get sketching. I hope to hit the machine tonight, but I'm only going to start if I am absolutely certain where I'm headed. This is not a point to wander in and start without a plan. Still, I'm incredibly excited to be this far along and I hope that the process is all easy and fun from here on out -- besides, at least if taking the pins out proves just as challenging on my fingers, I can get help with that!