Winning the battle of the W.i.P.s one quilt at a time

by Nicole

One of the things I committed to this year was reducing my work in progress, or w.i.p., pile.

Related: New Year, Old W.i.P.s

The next w.i.p. in line is a minimalist quilt made from denim and with curves.

I finished the top a while ago, but was stumped by how to quilt it. Whenever I can’t figure out what to do for the quilting, I usually let it sit until inspiration strikes. Well, it struck!

I decided to go with straight lines a quarter-inch apart in the background and straight line spirals in the denim curves. With straight lines, I can honor the minimalism of the quilt design and highlight the curved shapes. The spirals will complement the straight lines and the pieced curves.

Related: 7 Tips for Machine Quilting at Home

The straight line spirals mean I’m in for a lot of twisting and turning. My machine doesn’t like all that twisting and turning. The thread tends to get all knotted on the back. But I’ve discovered that if I dab a bit of Sewer’s Aid on the needle before twisting and turning, I have no problems. And it doesn’t gunk up the machine at all. Win!

All this straight line quilting means that I’ll be working on this one for a while. I figure I’ll stitch at least a few hundred thousand stitches into this quilt. Wish me luck and endurance!

If you are looking for tips on straight line quilting, I’ve got 10 tips for you right here!

Nicole Neblett signoff Modern Quilting blog

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10 comments

Christina in SW FL June 11, 2018 - 7:09 am

Beautiful stitching Nicole! 🙂 I adore your backing as well. Thank you for the link to tips for straight iine quilting.

Nicole June 14, 2018 - 9:59 pm

Thanks, Christina! Straight line quilting is my favorite. I’m happy to share my love of it!

Grace Slataper June 11, 2018 - 8:07 am

I love your quilts! I also appreciate the straight-to-the-point way you explain what you are doing. Thank you!

Nicole June 14, 2018 - 9:59 pm

Thanks, Grace! I appreciate your feedback!

Shasta June 11, 2018 - 5:14 pm

That quilting looks great – I wish you luck and endurance as you finish it.

Nicole June 14, 2018 - 9:59 pm

Thanks, Shasta! I will need all the well wishes I can get!

Melanie June 14, 2018 - 1:50 pm

Can you fall in love with the post already with just reading the headline? “Winning the battle of the W.i.P.s one quilt at a time” This is so my topic but I was feeling frustrated with my “slow” progress. I think I have to print it out really big and put it where I see it all the time. Even slow – I would still be winning! Love that word in here…

Anyway: Wishing you the best of luck with all your WIPs. I am curious about the quilt and looking forward to seeing more of it. The texture of the cotton/ denim is probably already great and the quilting idea sounds lovely. Sending you some twisting motivation 🙂

Nicole June 14, 2018 - 10:01 pm

The struggle is real, Melanie! But yes, take heart that any progress is a win! We have to find motivation wherever we can and hold on to it. I hope my sharing encourages you to keep at it. Happy stitching to you!

Diane July 1, 2018 - 4:50 pm

OMG I need your encouragement every day…I have soooo many WIP UFO Scrap everything…

Nicole July 2, 2018 - 7:21 pm

I know the feeling, Diane! It can be overwhelming, but we can do it. One quilt at a time!

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