I'm back!

Every year or so I seem to go through a motivational slump, when I just can't seem to muster the enthusiasm or energy to quilt. Given how far I push myself with my quilting, it's probably not surprising! It lasts a week or so, then I get back on track - just rather behind. So instead of coasting along nicely, I'm now finding myself with some looming deadlines - but at least I'm working towards them again. My urgent to-do list includes a couple of quilting jobs, a magazine commission, two baby quilts, a large birthday present and several commissions. I've also got a stack more which I consider to be less urgent, but with deadlines in the next few months. Normal, really!

(background quilting; ditch quilting incomplete - from the back; backlit by the 820's powerful lights)

So the last few days I've been quilting my latest magazine contribution. The background and ditch quilting are all done, and I'm adding a considerable amount of sparkle with Superior 'Glitter', a holographic thread. This quilt's all about rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, so it has to sparkle, and this thread really does. It stitches out beautifully, but it does twist, so after each section, I gently remove the thread from the machine, allow it to untwist, and re-thread.