It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you focus and set aside a set amount of time to work on a project. I told Dennis to turn up the air conditioner upstairs because I wanted to work in my sewing room for an hour and a half yesterday afternoon. I set my little timer and got to work.
I had sewn the rows together for the 4th of July at Granny’s quilt, but all the seams still had to be pressed open before I could sew them together. I am so tired of pressing seams open. Really really tired. I devoted an hour to this job and as you see, I got over half of the quilt top sewn together!
I just had to move on to something else, so I now tackled the last border for the Border of the Month quilt. The blocks were made, but all the seams needed to be pressed: you guessed it- open. My six blocks are now ready to be attached to one another, then sewn to the quilt top. I sure hope any further borders for this project are EASY!
I literally dreamed last night of pulling out the Hey Boo blocks and putting them together so I could send the top off to my quilter. I started searching for them, and what do you know? I had apparently already completed the quilt top and added the borders. I had it all folded up with a 108″ backing all ready to mail out. Is this a sign of early Alzheimer’s? Truly, I do not recall putting those blocks together. Maybe Dobbie or some other house elf did it for me. At any rate, there’s one big job done and dusted and it was painless. lol
Today is Eva’s last day with us. Her dad and stepmom are coming home from Alaska today, and she starts school on Wednesday. I will take her home this afternoon because she has a ton of stuff to do to get herself ready. And as much as I absolutely loved having her stay with me and driving her all over town all summer, I am looking forward to spending mornings up in my sewing room and getting my focus back on quilting. What I am craving is a consistent schedule.
Hope your week got off to a great start!
12 Responses
Well, that’s one for the books— a completed top just lying around! I must have Alzeimer’s too, except every time I pull out a UFO it is LESS put together than I remember! It’s fabulous and I remember all the challenges you started having while making it. <3
Granny Square also came out well— Heather Briggs does a nice job and I’d trust her with a mystery quilt.
Another summer over— all the wonderfulness gets to be a bit too much, doesn’t it? Your kindness will be returned— some day, Eva will be driving YOU all over town, I am sure.
Pressing opens seams is time consuming. But I just love how flat the quilt comes out. And I think it quilts out so much better. I only do edge to edge quilting instead of custom so stitch in the ditch is not done. Your piecing is beautiful.
Try the wool pressing bar from Fat Quarter Shop. It helps so much when pressing seams open. It allows the fabric on either side of the seam to fall away so it is easier to part the seam. I spray the seam with Best Press so it is nice and flat. Good luck!
I was going to recommend this too. It’s such a helpful tool, and you can use it as a clapper after pressing too.
A forgotten finished quilt. How fun is that!
I wish Dobie would come finish mine.
It is coming on beautifully – love it!
I think your schools break up earlier for summer than ours – they go back the first week in September. I’m enjoying travelling without getting stuck in school runs! But I miss those days when the children were at home and (apart from arguing) playing in the garden. No grandchildren – make the most of Eva while you can, but back to normal routine is nice too.
Supposed to reach 91 degrees here tomorrow. Ugh! I’m off to play with other quilty ladies – we bring our fans and hope the fabrics don’t fly all over the place!
What a wonderful surprise! Never have I ever returned to work on a quilt and found it already complete. 😊 The rose web panto will be perfect.
Your piecing skills are outstanding! I agree, I have a love/ hate relationship with pressing seams open. The outcome is worth the effort.
Enjoy your remaining time with Eva, then you can get back to your normal routine. 🌻
Great progress on your quilts!! I love the laid back of summer with my teacher daughter and grandson just down the street but then I am ready for a routine again too. Right now my garden produce is taking a lot of time but I sure enjoy those jars of canned goodies this winter. I enjoy the process or I would quit doing it.
What a fun surprise to find an unfinished quilt ready to mail to your quilter! Pressing seams open takes time, but it’s well-worth the extra effort to have a flat quilt. School is starting earlier & earlier in many districts. Some actually started on Monday this week, so I guess Eva has a couple of ‘extra’ days off! Enjoy sewing your way back into a routine!
You deserve a happy finished quilt top surprise after a stressful time watching fire alerts! Your productivity is inspiring me. Missouri is in the throes of an extended heat wave which gives me an excuse to shutter inside at my machine 😊
What a wonderful surprise! And now you have “gained” a day of sewing time.
Eva will no doubt enjoy going back to school, but will probably also miss spending so much time with you. Enjoy it while you can.
Lucky you finding a completed top and backing ready to go to the quilters! I also absolutely hate open seams! I feel I never do it correctly and is it really necessary? Your quilts look great so I guess they work.