Train Ride from Tokyo Finish

A Hand Quilted Finish

At this very moment I am covered by this same quilt, feet up, and lap top engaged. My cup of coffee is within reach. I've worked a year to make it, and yet it gets used so casually. I wonder if I'd feel this way if I wasn't the maker. But I want to know how a quilt feels and wears with use. I like to record which batting I used, and there is a significant difference in the drape and warmth. There truly are battings better suited for different seasons, and may be too warm for summer so I'm enjoying now.

Tokyo Train Ride Out to the Borders: Design On the Fly

You might call this busy.
I say it's happy.
I like happy!


Design On the Fly

I like not knowing exactly where a  quilt will wind up. Also, I'm honest to a fault about my work, and believe wholeheartedly in showing you the process. It makes me feel very human when someone else shows their me their struggle to design, and I assume I'm not alone. Unless you're following a well tested pattern, there are lots of little roadblocks to work through. Rarely it works like you planned it, but the whole creative process with changes and all is very liberating. It's not really improvisational quilting, or improv. It's more 'design on the fly'. 

Kaleidoscope Blocks with Tokyo Train Ride by Sarah Watts

Kaleidoscope Blocks

Last week I gave you my impression of the Craftsy class, "Color Play" with Joen Wolfrom. (Today is the last day to sign up for the Craftsy Giveaway, and winners will be announced here and on mmm! quilts tomorrow.) I showed you how it had changed my perspective of color, and in turn how I now picked out fabrics for a quilt. I really felt it would be incomplete if I stopped there, so I've started the actual quilt. Pop back to the "Color Play" post for fabric details, etc.