The lies that lying liars tell

Do you recall me saying that I was not going quilt with my wiggle-y walking-foot zigzag for a while?

Well, I lied.

To date, I have 5 quilts I've kept & a few I've given away that I have quilted with this manipulated programmed stitch. The first time I used it was in combination with straight stitching around oval templates -- the result was a braid-look. After that I did parallel lines, the others have all been grids of varying widths, some parallel, some perpendicular to the quilt edge. I LOVE the look I get with it -- especially after the quilt has been washed & dried -- so cozy & crinkle-y.

But I worried I was over-using it, getting in a Wiggle-y Zigzag Rut, so to speak, so I "vowed" to leave it behind. I should have waited to make such a sweeping statement. I quilted all the + quilts with it. With 3 quilts made assembly line-style, I wanted quick, easy & utilitarian quilting -- the wiggle-stitch is perfect for this & I think it looks a little fancier than it is. It is also great for in-the-ditch quilting, hides any wobbles away from the Straight & Narrow. I also like it with very perpendicular patchwork, kind of softens & counterbalances the look. Now that the Christmas quilts are done, I'm using The Wiggle Stitch on my dotty 16-patches. As soon as I began piecing them, I saw them quilted with this stitch -- more blocky patchwork calmed with snake-y stitching.

Never say never, right? :-}

The Trees & the Forest

I've never been overly fond of Special Occasion quilts. You know, Birthday Quilts, Halloween Quilts, Quilts for Hanukkah or Christmas. Now I don't mean *gifts* for these occasions, but quilts that are just brought out for display at these times -- fine for someone else, just not for me.

That being said, since mid-November I have been OBSESSED with the thought of making a tree quilt. I suppose trees can be for year-round & the kind of trees I've been about are as much about triangles as about the trees. But, The Tree Quilt I've been pining for is one with pointy green to blue-green trees on a frosty white background, maybe with a few touches of red & gold -- pretty darn Christmas-y, huh?

So, with a template I hadn't yet used & a deep dig in my stash that produced a dozen or so old, blender-y, tree-ish-colored fabrics, a hoarded paisley white-on-white & 3 red & gold fat quarters -- I'm on my way to a Christmas Tree Quilt!

Truth be told, this is my second tree quilt. I made one for my parents for Christmas back in 1993 -- it was loved & admired & proudly shown off, but was never used (the "save it for Good" mentality, don't you know). Now that my parents are both gone, the quilt is back in my home. It's a big one! And finally in use on our guest bed.