2/21/12

Back At It

Today I was back in the sewing room after taking two days off.  Sunday we ran some errands in town, and yesterday I was at my home away from home:  the dentist.  Do you remember when I wrote this?  That was when my tooth was pulled to make way for an implant.  (It sounds funny to say it that way. . .  as if the tooth were preventing me from getting the implant that should have been there.)  After months and months and months, I finally had impressions taken yesterday and I will get my tooth on March 5th.  Yay!  After all that time with a hole in my row of bottom teeth, I suspect my tongue won't know what to do with itself.  (Anyone who's ever been missing a tooth will know exactly what I'm talking about.)

So today, I was back in the sewing room.  I started my day machine sewing the binding onto the Pretty Little Ponies quilt.


I could not possibly have done this without George's wise counsel.


He stands ready with advice on all things sewing.  I still need to do the hand-sewing on this, but it's a small quilt, and so I should be able to do it in one sitting.

After that, I turned my attention to the next set of Just Takes 2 blocks.  Oy!  If I had known how much paper-piecing would be involved in this quilt, I probably wouldn't have started it.  I know how to paper piece, and I've done it a lot.  I love the nice sharp points it gives me.  But I detest doing it.  It is time-consuming, tedious and (trying to think of another "t" word) terrifically wasteful.  (That's as close as I could come.)  But I'm well into the blocks for this quilt now, so I'll stick it out to the bitter end.  (Whine, whine, whine.)  This pinwheel block was made using traditional machine piecing.


But then there was this one.  Some have complained that their blocks didn't finish up at the right size, but fortunately, mine did.  If it hadn't, I'd be whining even more.


There are still two more paper-pieced blocks in this set, but that was as much as I could stand for one day.  I'll finish up the other two tomorrow . . . maybe.  Besides, I needed to turn my attention to adding a hanging sleeve to the Checkerboard Flowers quilt.  I have the sleeve made.  Now I just need to pin it to the back of the quilt and hand sew it in place.  Also, I still need to label this quilt in accordance with the show guidelines.


My sincere thanks go to Tallgrass Prairie Studio for this excellent tutorial on how to make and attach a hanging sleeve.  It was made to order for my project.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Barbara I really love the colors in these and you did such a good job with the basket...Very nice! Of course, I know George had a paw in it! Hugs

Teresa in Music City said...

Sorry you are having tooth issues - yuk!!! I'm sure you will be good to goo with the new implant in March.

I'm glad I resisted the urge to do the Just Takes 2. So many are doing it, and I was very tempted because I am loving the blocks, but I am having to set limits or I'd be a crazy woman trying to do everything! You've done a great job on yours!!!

quiltzyx said...

Yay, the new tooth will be 'home' soon!

Your blocks look super - glad the PP didn't harrass you tooo much.

Hanging sleeves are not my favorite thing to do. I always plan to sew it on when I'm putting the binding on, but rarely remember when it's time to do it! I'll have to go look at the tute you referenced....

Diane Wild said...

My biggest complaint about paper piecing is picking out all those itty-bitty pieces of paper and the mess. Arrgh! I'll say it again, those red & white blocks are awesome.

Snoodles said...

You know I don't like PP either....I avoid it like the plague! George is a doll for helping so much. I really need to know a better way to make a hanging sleeve - that's a chore for me....I'm off to check out the tutorial!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

I love the pinwheel block. I have a nifty new HST trimmer ruler that works great with these. I need to write a post about it when I get the chance. Good luck at the dentist. I had some work done the last few months (first time in a decade) and now my teeth are sensitive for the first time ever. I'm not happy about it.