Need a little Color Advice and I fell off the wagon

So , I am trying to decide what color thread I should use to quilt my “Hugs and Kisses” wall hanging.  If you look closely, you can see my blue chalk lines.  I plan to quilt circles (hugs).  So, I was thinking gray, but I am just not sure.  I really like this piece, so I don’t want to make the wrong decision.  I am also concerned about quilting circles.  I think it will require a lot of accuracy.  Wondering if I should use a walking foot?  Might have to try a test circle on some scraps to see what happens.  If you have thoughts on the color, please let me know.  I always get great advice from all my quilting friends.

20180121_112137_resizedYes, that is my Moka wearing an activity monitor.  Seemed like  a good idea.

It is not really hers.  My daughter got a new one that will monitor her swimming and I thought I should check how lazy Moka was.  Totally lazy was the answer.  I did way more steps than her today.  I was all excited about that and then Kev told me that since she has four legs I had to double her step count.  Not sure I agree with his logic.

So, I don’t really make New Year’s resolutions, but I am on a mission to lose some weight.  Decided that I totally need to give up steroids (not the build muscles kind, the reduce inflammation kind).  They were causing weight gain.  They took away the pain, but I am pretty sure extra pounds cause more stress on joints, so it is a catch 22.  I did good for about a week and half and then fell off the wagon.  Stress did it to me.  It has always been my trigger.  Back on the straight and narrow path again.  Ugh.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

53 thoughts on “Need a little Color Advice and I fell off the wagon”

  1. I agree, the light gray thread would look perfect on your quilt. (not that you need my OK) LOL If I put the activity monitor on my Sami it would completely stop. This cooler weather has her in hibernation mode. She will never be ready for swimsuit season. 🙂

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  2. I would also choose grey. This is such a lovely piece. The circle for hugs quilting sounds great.
    Sorry about the Catch 22 . You have a good plan in place, and I wish you well. I’m back on a sensible eating plan, but not only am I a stress eater, I’m also a celebration eater🤪 And…tomorrow is Pie Day….a day to celebrate for sure.

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  3. Hi Lori,
    Umm, no you do not double the steps for four legs. HAHA!! I have spiral quilted a baby quilt with my walking foot – article on my blog if you search for it. I cut out a piece of paper the size of the inner circle, and slowly stitched around that. Then I increased the next row by 1/2″ or the width of my walking foot and just followed the stitch line. After the first couple of rows it gets much easier and quicker. You will be able to do it quickly and easily! Losing weight – yup, I’m trying too. The steroids are fabulous but they do encourage weight gain – and I had trouble sleeping with them as well. It is a catch 22 – no pain, able to walk, weight gain or pain, can’t walk, weight gain. Geez. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  4. Grey thread would be nice. Or maybe off-white. I still love the orange in the pattern, it’s going to be so cute! Quilting circles will be a nice contrast, too. Circles with a walking foot will work, just go slow. And don’t expect them to be perfect. Circles have broken my heart many times, but I love them! Just had to learn to love the wonky ones. 🙂

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  5. I wonder what colour your binding will be? I think a bluish gray thread would look nice, would complement the orange and be a slight contrast from the text. This slightly darker shade than regular gray would give more depth to the circles, too.

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  6. Great quilting plan, Lori. Just a thought on the steroids….is it OK to try to gradually ease off of them? I know some steroids are handled differently, so maybe it wouldn’t work. Or maybe a lower dosage? Such a catch-22, hope you can find a solution that is a win-win.

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  7. I agree with grey! It will accent the circles but not take over. If you want to use your walking foot – be prepared to turning the quilt with every circle. (ULK!!!) I would use a free motion foot. If you want another guide, you can also make a template with masking tape. (Several layers of masking tape in opposite directions. Cut out your template. It will have some “stick” and will stay in place. I find that easier than using chalk marks. I’m looking forward to seeing it quilted!

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  9. I’d be tempted to quilt in orange. How many opportunities do you get to do that?
    I’ve wished quilting was more aerobic…all those hours behind the machine make me feel guilty. But where’s the value in that?! And food, glorious food!

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  12. Hi Lori, as usual, I am late in commenting……It was a house work day yesterday! I would use a light beige or white – which ever is more predominate in your background fabric. It will make the orange stand out. Your background is busy, so this would call attention to the crosses. If you want to really do something different, use orange thread on the background circles (not sure about this one) Be sure to use the walking foot and go very slow and follow your marking. You can do it!!

    As for the diet. This time I have given up all gluten and corn and any other foods that are not on my list(I have not followed it for a few years) I am now down 13 pounds since I started with the Flu. Only because I am now not eating all the fattening things. I need to lose another 10 and I will be soooooo happy. I have now gone to poached eggs (less oil) gave up my butter (ahhh) and of course only 1 serving of my chips and for some reason since the Flu, I have no desire for chocolate (Yea). Sometimes I look at Clay’s food – sausage, bacon, and avocado, but then I remember how sick I got by not sticking to my Celiac diet. The quickest way is to give up all bread, cookies, and candy and ‘fats’. When I quit smoking in 1989 I gained 20 and by cutting out fats, I lost 30 pounds!!! It is difficult, but I made up my mind that eating something that makes me ill takes me away from my quilting. You can do it. I am testing now for yogurt to see if I can tolerate it and have that for my afternoon snack.

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  13. I found giving up gluten and sugar really really helped with joint pain too. Need to do it again (and drop 15 pounds AGAIN). Sugar is my demon.

    I’ve never used a walking foot so I’d struggle along with a free motion foot. I’m not sold on the circles or the grey thread, though. What about circles contained in the center of the X? I’d worry about the quilting visually interfering with your lovely X’s. But I need to look back and see some other views of your piece.

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  14. Congrats on your progress! I’ve low carbed before and while my digestive system likes it, my kidneys do not no matter how much water I drink. One of my dogs has only 3 legs and my vet told me to take 6 pounds off her because her one front leg can’t handle the extra weight alone. Instead of being dramatic with an actual diet, I scaled back on her food by about 1/4 cup a day and over about 6 months her excess weight is gone. So I put myself on the same program and remarkably, I’m down 13 pounds without really depriving myself. I still don’t eat wheat, gluten or no, but just have limited the intake of all other foods just a little bit. No calorie, carb, or fat counting, just quantity. Good luck and keep us posted!

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  15. Hi! I’ve found using freezer paper circles as a guide pinned or ironed to the quilt top helps me to keep fairly smooth stitching lines. As other comments above I’d advise taking it slow and be prepared to lift the presser foot and shift the quilt position quite often. It’s going to look great ☺

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  16. That quilt looks lovely so far! I would maybe go for off-white or orange. White when you want to keep stuff subtle, and orange when you want the whole thing more bolt. But how much boldness it can take would also depend on the size of the quilt and all.

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  20. Are you hand quilting along with us? If so, quilting accurate circles will be easy. Just mark them, with the marking tool of your choice and quilt away. The color will depend on what you want to happen….grey will probably make your stitches blend in. Black might be nice too.

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  21. When you fall off, just get back on. =) I think you can use black, white, gray, or even orange, if you wanted it to stand out. Or a variegated neutral. It’s all going to look great. I presume you are machining this, not hand-stitching?

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