Do you ever get bogged down and find that you just can’t seem to make any progress? That’s how I’ve felt over the last couple of weeks. I have made some progress on my landscape quilt, but honestly, not nearly enough! There have just been way too many other things to do, and I’ve also been feeling a little off my game. Quilting hasn’t come as easily as it normally does. I’ve come within inches of my sewing machine a good number of times, ready to continue stitching, only to have something (or someone) pull me away!
So today I decided enough was enough. I made a point of actually getting to my sewing machine and making some valid progress without interruption... and now I can share that with you.
First, this is where I left off in my last post, with a little over half of the sky quilted. (You can read about how I got to this point in a previous blog post.)
It doesn’t look like I’ve made a huge amount of progress since then, but I have managed to move things along a little!
The next step was to continue stitching the background area around the sun.
I continued with the same free-motion quilting approach I used for the rest of the sky, working my stitching around the applique shapes and keeping the lines horizontal yet curved.
And finally… Yes, I did actually manage to finish stitching the entire sky!
Hard to see here, but the sky is complete. It’s always satisfying to finish one section of a quilt. Even if there is still a long way to go, having one area completely finished gives you that little boost of motivation to keep going.
Now it was time to move on from the sky and start working on the ground...
For the darker section of the ground, I chose a dark variegated thread.
I really like using variegated threads for this type of quilting because the subtle changes in color add interest without requiring me to change thread every few lines.
And then I made a start… It may not look like much, but every stitch counts!
By the way, the techniques I’m using for this project are all going to be added to my online workshop Getting Started with Quilt Art.
There is already a section in the class covering landscapes using a different technique, so I’m really excited about adding this approach as well. I think it will make that section even more useful and give you another way to approach your own landscape quilts. You can find out more about the workshop by clicking the picture.
And now… some more progress!
By finally getting myself back to the sewing machine, things really started moving a little more quickly!
The remaining dark ground is finished. That felt good!
Next, I needed to choose a thread for the lighter section of the ground.
I settled on another variegated thread that I think will work really well with the lighter colors in this part of the landscape and still keep a good contrast with the darker areas.
And then, I was stitching again… the light area of the ground has been started.
Sometimes You Just Have to Start! Looking back at what I’ve accomplished today, it’s actually more than I thought!
It’s easy to feel like you haven’t made progress when you’ve been distracted or haven’t had much time at the sewing machine. But once I put all the photos together, I could see that the sky is finished, the dark ground is finished, and I’ve made a start on the light ground.
Not bad after all! Sometimes the hardest part is simply getting back to the machine and starting again.
So that’s my little reminder to myself today: it doesn’t have to be a big sewing session. It doesn’t have to be hours of uninterrupted quilting. Even a few lines of stitching can move a quilt forward.
How about you? Do you ever have periods where you just can’t seem to make progress on a project, even though you really want to?... Or perhaps you have a quilt sitting beside the sewing machine waiting patiently for you to get back to it?
I’d love to know what you’re working on!
