Sweet(ish) Progress

The creativity isn't exactly flowing yet - but I'm on a deadline now and nothing makes me more motivated than the high/stress of an upcoming deadline! I very gently removed the cat from his immediate perch atop the sewing machine desk -- setting him up on a chair directly at window height where he spent the next four hours, because I spoil him -- and actually got some quilting done!

After checking my tension on some coordinating scrap pieces (same fabrics and same batting just to be extra safe), I sat down for what I think is my fourth attempt at quilting this bugger.

And it finally worked! I managed to get it quilted with only a couple minor tension blips. Thanks to my many struggles with tension, I did simplify the quilting considerably compared to what I'd hoped to do - but I think it turned out well, and this is my hands down favorite method right now, so I enjoyed the process once everything was working smoothly. After the bonding I've been having with the seam ripper, I'm calling this a win!

My goal was to keep the angle of the diagonal 'chevron' lines random. It hardly looks that way - though it certainly isn't perfectly matched - but I think that worked out for the better. The nine-patch blocks are high contrast, a bolder or wonkier quilting might have taken this into overboard territory.

The diagonal lines don't seem to show up as strongly as the straight lines, especially when looking at the back of the quilt - but I think a trip through the wash will even things out a little more. This is the point where it's so easy for me to over think things, but with a looming deadline for the upcoming baby shower, it's more important that I get to work on the binding than for me to wonder what else I could or should do on the quilting.