Been feeling a bit pressured with this project—-totally my fault and self created. The mister swears I work better under pressure and I am not sure that he is wrong about that. But here is what I did: I finished the top and then just stepped aside. The mister had surgery, I got busy caring for him and all the other things that happen from day to day. Then I suddenly had a moment when I realized that I was running out of time!
I started this quilt with the intention of sending it to my mother for her birthday. And that day was fast approaching. The mister reminded me again….and again….
At least had the forethought to have him help me baste the quilt together. I use the 3M 505 spray basting method and it simply takes two people to make it happen effectively and efficiently. I was smart enough to ask for his help prior to surgery as it wouldn’t have gone well afterwards!
So, there lay the unfinished project in the other room, in need of binding. The part that I detest and I think that most quilters find it to be their least favorite part as it takes great skill to finish the binding to look like something that the cat didn’t scratch around on. But it is also one of the most important parts of the quilt as it ties everything together and finishes off the project. It is important that it looks nice and is neatly done.
I wasn’t totally happy with the binding job that I ultimately did, but my skills continue to be sharpened with each item that I create. I did some straight stitching on the beige borders and the red inside borders so that it wouldn’t feel too busy. I did feel a bit brave when quilting the top and did some free motion quilting that included some squiggles and stars. Not perfect, but I was pretty pleased with how it looked when the whole thing came together.
After all the nagging from the mister (thank you Mister!) I popped the quilt in the mail and my mom was thrilled with it. Not sure if she was thrilled that I made her something or she was genuinely thrilled with the finished product, but I will be a bit piggish and take credit for both!
Her birthday is this Friday and while it won’t be cool enough for her to need to roll up in her new blanket, we all seem to be happy that it is in it’s new home!
