Saturday, July 19, 2008

It's the final countdown

Two weeks to go

Two weeks from today, I have to submit my quilts in preparation for the Canberra Quilters' exhibition.

The big queen sized quilt went to the quilter yesterday and it should be ready in a week or so, giving me a few days to attach the binding, sleeve and label.

The wall hanging, however, is still a work in progress. When I returned from the quilter's yesterday morning, I intended to cut out the fabric and sew it into a top by that night, ready for making the quilt sandwich the next day. I was then going to spend the rest of the Tour de France hand quilting it. It's not a big quilt - about 130 cm square. And after a brief look at the instructions, the quilt looked to be a complete doddle.


Until I started cutting yesterday, that is. As if the little triangles weren't hard enough to cut, I then had to use a template to trim off the little corners. I had 240 little triangles to lop the corners off, using the template. At 12.30 am this morning I finally finished the lopping. By then I was on a roll. I decided to start sewing the little bastards together to make a rectangle.

These little triangles are a bitch

Perhaps I should have gone to bed. Because I tried 8 times to get these things made into rectangles and they weren't cooperating.

Whose idea was it to make this quilt? Oh yeah. Mine. I was so cocky, thinking this quilt would be a breeze, that I'd have heaps of time to get it done. Instead, I'm working on this thing full time, when I'd much rather be making sunnyboy bags and needle books for the shop.


And on that note, I'd like to thank you all for your very kind words (and kinder purchases) from my shop over the last week. It has been such a thrill to see stuff that I have loved making leave my house for a new home, for someone else to love it as much as I have. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

PS. I'm hoping I can get this silly quilt top knocked over by tonight. Then I can take a break tomorrow and make stuff for the very bare shelves at Buttontree Lane, plus the custom orders I have promised. I'll keep you all posted.

6 comments:

  1. I missed out again on the Sunnyboy that I wanted....can you please preety please reserve one for me next run in the chocolate and red 'Oh deer' fabric?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmmm, 240 triangles, you say? I think I can see why I haven't tried tackling a quilt yet!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Some quilts have a personality of their own, I guess. I'm actually really interested in the glimpses of your sewing machine set up I saw in the pics. The sea-thru guide thing and the even surface look great. I do some quilting and I'm all self-taught so I don't know about such great gadgets. If it appeals, perhaps you could do a post about this gear sometime...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don't you hate it when the crafting kicks your oh-so-confident butt...sigh, happens to us all at some point or other!

    ReplyDelete
  5. your confidence is inspiring and I will be cheering you on with my tricky sleeves. We won't be beaten!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are so busy! It's motivating me to move some projects along. I must find out which quilter you use...

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! I love reading your comments, but if you're anonymous please tell me who you are.