With my announcement that I plan to decorate for the holidays earlier this year, the harsh realization that I had not yet finished my Christmas quilt hit me full force this week. I had planned all along to bring the finished top to a professional quilter for finishing. My machine is too small for a project this size and I do not yet trust my quilting skills to finish that important step so it is as polished as I want it to be. I've never gone to a professional for this stage before, so the process was new to me.
But first I had to actually finish the top! I was half-way there and was told by the shop that I needed to get it in by last week Thursday to have it back by the beginning of December. Great, another deadline for me. I stayed up late on Wednesday night and finally put it together:
By the time I finished the top, I was so tired I could barely see straight. It was no time to be prepping the back, so I decided to truly leave that to the last minute in the morning when I was a little fresher.
Morning came and the quilting math for the back still eluded me. I measured the fabric for the back 3 times and kept coming up 4 inches short. For the life of me, I could not figure out how to piece that darn thing to make it work. In a fit of frustration, I shoved the material into a bag and headed out the door.
Thank goodness for patient quilt shop ladies. When I got to the store and explained my trouble with the back, they measured the quilt and back fabric and literally drew me a map of how to cut and piece the back. In the end it was such a simple fix but my brain just wasn't working right that day and I never would have figured it out on my own.
It may have taken two trips to the store to get it submitted, but their help made the effort more than worth it. Sometimes the most effective shortcut is looking for the right help. I'm thrilled with how the top turned out and I can't wait to see the finished blanket.
Wow Tiffy!!! I love it!
Posted by: Moira | November 9, 2009 at 01:45 AM
All the ideas sound wonderful. I would like to add a new idea for furtue meet ups, especially for beginners in FMQ. It seems many quilters especially beginners are challanged with free motion quilting and very often give up before they even begin. My first time free motion quilting I made a simple 2 patch lap quilt and I called it my first FMQ learning quilt. I gave myself no rules except to have fun and get use to feeling the feel of free motion quilting. I can't tell you how liberating that was for me. I think it would be fun to have an FMQ learning quilt meet up where no rules apply and do show and tell. Later down the road we can begin to add the principles and rules as we become more aquainted and comfortable with the feel of free motion quilting.Happy Quilting,Michelle Costen
Posted by: Sidiki | June 17, 2012 at 05:47 PM