The Very Finished Caterpillar

Today was a perfect day.

I spent the morning taking a lesson from Joan at Maple Leaf Quilters on her long arm!! WOOOOOO! It was so much fun! I love quilting on the long arm! (can’t you tell I am happy?)I had always wanted to take a lesson from her, and finally found a day to do it. It was very different from free motion quilting. You use your whole body. Its like a dance, the Gammill Two-Step. So of course we had to blast some 90’s pop hits to rock out to. =)

I brought my son’s Hungry Caterpillar quilt with me to finish. It was going to be his 1st birthday present, but now it can be his 2nd birthday present. Strike one off the WIP list! I chose a simple large stipple called Inkblot and some rainbow variegated thread. It looks great, and the rainbow thread is both colorful and hidden at the same time.

Maple Leaf Quilters is located in beautiful Tsawwassen, BC. Yes its spelled correctly =) Its 1 block from the waterfront and a lovely, light filled space perfect for quilting. If your going to be in the lower mainland for a time or don’t mind sending your quilts out, I highly recommend them! I will be using them for all my large quilts from now on. I love the look of a long armed quilt, and it is very hard to achieve the kind of tension on the layers you can get from the long arm set up. My space is also limited behind my machine, which makes quilting larger quilts….. challenging, as a nice word.

When I got home the little guy was so excited about his quilt that he couldn’t wait for mommy to bind it, out of the bag and on to the floor for a game of “Night Night Baby” Normally he tucks his Pooh-Bear under all the blankets and cushions in the house, but this time it was all about him! He was not happy when I took the quilt to square and bind, and insisted on “helping” me sew the binding on. Read: press the Automatic Thread Cutter every 8″ or so. But I don’t mind, because he is warm and snuggly, and very much a little boy who doesn’t want to be snuggly, so I take what I can get!

The afternoon was spent at the park with the family for an afternoon of play and a photo shoot. The bright colors really stood out in the playground! It was a rare sunny day today, normally it rains from November to April, so we took full advantage.

Hubby is getting really good at holding quilts. No fingers or toes sticking out!

As an added bonus to the day, there was a pair of bald eagles sounding off in a tree in nearby. They really are huge, majestic birds, but the sound they make seems so undignified! Squawk Squawk! Maybe trying to trick the resident seagulls a little closer, or fighting over who has to clean the bathroom? Either way, its one of the very few times I wish I had a mega zoom lens.

Right at the top of the center left tree, you can make out the little brown and white blots. =)

I hope your day was a good one wherever you are!

Happy Stitches,

Stacey