I finally finished quilting the Christmas Lemonade quilt. It is off Millie and ready to be finished. I really did enjoy manually quilting the border. I need a lot more practice with that particular skill but it did get easier the more I did it. Of course it was not without Mishap. I had used batting that was too big. It was a batt that I had cut too small for the braid quilt. Well when I put it on Millie, it was too wide for the backing. So I folded it under to get the side clamps on. When I quilted the border, I quilted the excess batting into a section of the design. I wasn't thinking about the excess batt being in the way. That lack of focus created a mess. This picture was taken after I cut most of the excess off.
Once I got most of the batting cut away, I needed to cut it closer to the stitches. Fortunately, I have a pair of applique scissors. I trimmed the excess batting as close to the stitches as I could. Some of the batting just rubbed loose at this point but some stayed put.
I then used a clean scrubbing sponge to wear away the batting that was left. It just started to pull apart. But I did accidentally tear out some stitches. I had to thread my sewing machine with red thread and re stitch the section of design that came loose. Luckily for me it was all straight lines.
I have kind of set it aside for now. Mostly because I am procrastinating. I don't know why but I didn't bury the thread ends as I went. Now I have to spread the quilt out and start burying them. I should have just done it as I was quilting. It also needs trimmed before I can put the binding on. My dining room table is currently being used to rebuild the electrical harness for my son's project car. I just need to nag him a little more to clear it off. Then I can spread out the quilt.
Another reason for setting it aside is I need to work on the granddaughters quilt. Winry will be here in just 2 short weeks. I know I won't have the quilt made by the time she gets here but I am hoping to get it done before I go out to visit. Not sure when that will be yet but probably early fall. And I can't take a quilt to Winry if I haven't made one for Viri. Since they will be sharing a bedroom, I wanted the quilts to match yet still be different. Pink for Viri and Purple for Winry. Both are being made with 1930's prints and both will be the Ribbon Dance pattern.
Last week I said I had all the half square triangles for Winry's quilt done. This week I have managed to get half of the 48 blocks sewn. That is despite tension problems with my sewing machine. When I started to sew the blocks together and I was having all sorts of tension issues. Plus the machine was making a loud clacking sound. I hate to say it but I think my little helper amde some adjustments to my machine when I wasn't looking. The machine ran fine without the bobbin and needle. I took the bobbin holder out, then cleaned and oiled the machine. After I got that done I tried sewing again. Still the loud noise and tension issues. I ended up tightening the top tension all the way up and loosening the bottom tension all the way down. The stitches were better but the noise remained. The next day I played around with it some more. I switched out the bobbin and the needle. The clacking was better. I tried to adjust the tension again and was able to get it back to a more normal range. I will need to take it in soon and get a tune up done on it but for now I am able to sew.
This is a picture of two blocks sewn together. I am really pleased with how it is coming together. I am hoping that I will get the remaining blocks sewn this week. It would be great if I could have the top done by next week. I am just not too sure of how much time I will have this week. My boss will be in North Carolina so I will probably need to work longer than 8 hours. Also my husband is home this week but only for five days. I will probably spend most of my time at home with him instead of sewing. Especially since we will probably only have about 7 days together for the next 3 weeks. Priorities!!!
Plus even if I get the top done this week, I need to get fabric for the back. I thought I had it covered but didn't realize just how much I really need. I bought 4 yards of pink fabric and 4 yards of purple fabric that was on sale. I thought I had enough for the backs. Turns out I really need 7 1/2 yards of each. I forgot about the borders. Problem is, I bought it as a store that I probably won't be able to get back too any time soon. So I will have to buy backing fabric again. So much for not adding to my stash. At least the fabrics are solids and colors that I will use. But money is a little tight and I wish I hadn't spent it on fabric that I can't use to finish the project. I will have to do some online shopping for backing fabric.
All in all a pretty good week. Progress made on two quilts. Mechanical issues that came up were dealt with. (I am pretty proud that I can do that). Lack of focus created an issue that made me think out of the box and helped me to use my problem skills.
What did you get done this week?
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