First Round of Quilting Done

As anticipated, I finished quilting my Chinese Poem Challenge today, starting with the remaining and still tedious outlining of leaves and faces with the invisible thread. Then I had some fun quilting in "brush" with black Polyneon thread.


I tried this carefree no mark design on a journal quilt to fill in around and between some birch trunks and really liked the way it worked. Here I made it a little less like skinny trees and more like underbrush (or at least tried to). I let it wind around the painted faces.

And so this is ready to block and bind, as soon as I clear a space on my work table. I'll probably layer and baste my tree trunks first, though, so I can get on with the second round of quilting.

And again as a little treat at the end of my workday, I needlepunched some more freezer paper patterns so that when time permits, I can paper piece more arcs for my tie project. This is a good system I've hit upon to keep me working at the harder or less desirable chores without feeling totally denied of a few personal pleasures. I guess it's breaking that all or nothing mentality with which I approach almost everything.