Quilting Hollyhocks Around the Barn Step 6: Chicken Wire Borders

 

At some point in the last 10 years, I found this great chicken fence fabric that turned out to be the perfect border for the Hollyhocks quilt.

I've been thinking about how best to quilt the borders ...  a 3-ply Celtic border?  A diamond grid?

I even considered following the turquoise chicken wire grid pattern on the fabric, but decided that there would be too many places to stop and turn.  

  

I paged through some of my quilting motif books, and finally settled on this pattern.  It kind of looks like chicken eggs.  I guess Easter is coming ...

The practice  piece -- consider it a warm-up.  A chance to figure out what path to take.

I marked out the borders with a chalk line dividing the space in half, then  marking every 2 inches.  This is sort of like the lined paper we used in 2nd grade when we were learning to write in cursive.

Then I started stitching out the loops on the outside, then a round doing the inside loops, and then "shells" on the outside and then the inside ...   Borders are easier to stitch out because you are not wrestling so  much with the bulk of the quilt.

 

Just to remind you what the overall quilt looks like ...

I still need to go back and fill in the dark flower stalks and the cream backgrounds between all the flower heads.  Still deciding what will work in that space.  

 

 

I was stitching along, making good progress with just a few feet to get to the end -- when the machine paused a bit ...   I turned it off and on again ...  and continued on my merry way ...  until it paused again, made an odd noise, and I could hear something let loose inside, and maybe a screw falling down inside the machine ... and then, no more sewing.  If I put my foot down on the pedal, it would rev up, and go-go-go, but the needle didn't move.  Maybe the belt broke?  I only had about 3 more feet to go to finish that last round of shells on the border ...

I have to admit:  I got this machine in 2016 after my aunt died, and I have not taken it in for maintenance at all.  I know: It's supposed to go in once a year, but it's such a tremendous hassle to tear it all down and pack it up to go to Appleton where the maintenance guy in on a circuit, and only shows up every 6 weeks (or so) ...   It means about 3 months without it.  How's that for a good reason to avoid regular maintenance.   But now I can't avoid it.  It is well and truly broken now.  Fortunately, I have a spare -- the identical same machine I purchased from my mother when she upgraded to her fancier new embroidery machine.    So-- I was able to tear down and set up the other machine and finish the border.  Hurray!  But I do have to find the repair person in Appleton, explain what's wrong, haul it up there and then wait ...  and wait some more.  It's not just a quick trip across town and done, which means I won't be able to deliver it until next weekend.  More waiting.  I know -- It could be worse.

Good news!  Ana's Sewing Center in Appleton said they can take it, and do the repairs locally with a 5-10 day turnaround time.  Yahoo!  But I still won't be able to get it there until the weekend.