Day 127 – Lacy Lattice

Once upon a time I spent every waking moment stitching tiny beads together to create necklaces that I never actually wore.

When I think back to that time I just have to smile and be thankful that I’ve moved on to a hobby making things I actually USE!

But some of the patterns I used in beadwork transfer over wonderfully well for quilting. Take this nice choker pattern which I’ve renamed Lacy Lattice:

I’ve made a new resolution this morning. I really feel like anytime is a good time for a new resolution, not just right around the new year.

My resolution today is to spend less time on the computer. It just seems like I’m spending more time at my desk than I really need to, and that’s time I could be quilting!

One way I’m ensuring I won’t spend hours hanging out at my desk is by changing my chairs out. Before I was using a big, cushy office chair that I could sit in for hours without realizing it.

Now I’ve switched chairs so that I’m using my backless quilting chair at the desk. I can’t sit back in this chair without falling off the back of my chair so it’s sure to lessen the time I spend at the computer.

With less time on the computer, I hope to make more videos and get more quilts done. Already we’re one month into 2010 and I haven’t finished even ONE quilt.

Granted, I have one very, very close to finished, and 4 more basted now thanks to working on the DVD, but as Josh says: “It doesn’t count until there are no PINS in it!”

Yeah, I may be being a bit hard on myself, but I’d rather be a bit hard and insist on getting this stuff done than wake up one day with a house full of unfinished projects and a lifetime of regrets.

That sounded really melodramatic (ha!), so let’s get back to Lacy Lattice:

Difficulty Level – Beginner. This is a really easy design! The biggest thing that might give you trouble is keeping the design a consistent width and length as you stitch it.

When in doubt – mark it! Never hesitate to give yourself some registration marks so you can easily keep the design a consistent shape and size.

Design Family – Edge to Edge. This design is stitched from one edge of your quilting space to another. This means that this design will work really well in most open, uncomplicated areas of your quilt.

Directional Texture – Two directions. This design has a very obvious horizontal or vertical texture that can add a nice movement to your quilt without being too overwhelming.

Suggestions for Use – I can definitely see using this design in one single row along the sashing or right along the border of a quilt.

It adds just that little touch of texture to an area, almost like the beadwork design it was taken from!