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| Front View of Cucumber Vine Practice Piece |
This assignment was a tough one. It involved travel stitching greater distances and along curved lines. Leah named the pattern she has us practicing, Cucumber Vines. Instead of expanding with branches or roots, spiral tendril shoots reach out through the open space.
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| Detail of the Spiral Shoots Shows Just How Trick Travel Stitching Can Be |
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| Back Side of Cucumber Vine Practice Piece |
It never hurts to practice. I have no doubt that my traveling stitching is improving, even on the curves, since the gap between the first stitch line and the travel line, when it does occur is tighter than in the past.
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| Detail of Back Side of Cucumber Vine Practice Piece |
It is easy to get hung up on the travel stitch gaffs. Looked at from a glass half full perspective, I have made leaps forward with tension issues due to lack of hand/foot coordination or hesitation beads. There are no pulled loops around the curves. There isn't a single hesitation pile up of thread. Perhaps there will come a time in the future when working on the latest challenge that I discover my travel stitching no longer has gaps.
It looks great!!! Seriously! But I agree. This was a tricky one!
ReplyDeleteLove your quilting...especially on the 'grape' fabric!
ReplyDeleteI think it looks great! The travel stitching is tricky, but so worth it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, everyone, for your generous words.
ReplyDeleteI find traveling difficult so I like your idea of making the channel wider. Your work is always so pretty.
ReplyDeleteEmma
Emma, I am glad you found my tip useful. I was worried that a verbal description might be too difficult to understand.
DeleteIt looks great to me! I know what you mean about getting hung up on what we perceive as our imperfections.....we are usually our worst critics. I'm going to start using the 3 foot rule......can I see the imperfection from 3 feet away? If not......no worries, mate!
ReplyDeleteThe 3 foot rule works for me. Ultimately it depends on what you are trying to achieve. Some people, like Leah, compete in the machine quilt world, where judges scrutinize every stitch front and back. Their travel stitching must not only be impeccable, but also enhance the design of the quilting. I don't enter judged quilt shows. My work hangs in galleries and museums, sometimes with other fiber art and often now with art of other media. The overall artist design is far more important than individual stitches or brush strokes. However, those stitches and strokes need to be good enough so as not to detract from the work.
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