'Around The Block'

Time to Square it up!

So the class was called 'Slideshow', but by the time I finished this quilt, I felt like I had been around the block a few times!  I started this quilt in Jan, the first class was suppose to start when I was making a 17hr road trip home for my Grampy's funeral.   So the quilt cutting was off to an emotional start and I had to do the cutting at home to be ready for the next quilt class.  This is a Queen Quilt, measuring roughly 102 inches wide.

The binding, in need of pressing

As I kept working on the quilt, it's story kept growing.  By about March Break, I had sections completed, but they had to be pressed and sewn together to make a completed top.  It was at this time that beer got spilled on the one corner of the quilt.  I have to admit, there was a lot of cutting, sewing and pressing involved in getting the top of this quilt completed!  So after getting that far, I decided I wanted a break from it before I would go quilt it together at my Aunt Liz's place.

The start of the pressed binding

Two weekends ago, I went Aunt Liz's place to get her help and learn how to use her long arm sewing machine.  The machine requires you to roll each layer up on a spool, and it took us 4 times to get the quilt top rolled correctly.  I guess if we had of watched the intructional video closer, we would have not made that error so many times.  So we are on a roll, I have quilted about a food of fabric together, only to notice something is wrong.  We are getting thread balling up on the back side, and it's just revealed itself to me.  We spent the rest of the afternoon picking out the stitches I just put in and gather up loose thread.

A look at the free motion pattern

Well, we started the process at 11am, now it's supper time and we can't solve the problem behind the thread balls.  So we give it a break, eat and go back at problem solving.  We have it working, it's now 8pm and I am on a roll free motion quilting this puppy together.  I completed the last stitch at roughly 1:30 am!  Bed time!  I must say though, Aunt Liz and I had a great time working on it, laughing our time away and chatting.  I am happy to spend that time with her, and in turn motivate her to complete some of hers she has sitting and waiting to be quilted.

A peek at the backing

I have now squared up the quilt, and put it's binding on it!  How sweet it is!  I did decided to try machine binding the quilt binding on this time.  It was a snap, and the quilt was ready about a week sooner than it would have been hand sewing it.  A week is likely pushing it, might have taken the rest of the summer, I mean, let's be honest!  It's big, and warm to have on your lap, so who wants to do that in the summer heat?!

This quilt is currenlty in the wash, remember the beer that is on it, eeeewww.  I look forward to having it on my bed tonight :)  My first queen quilt, my first free motion quilt, my first long arm quilt and my first machine binding quilt!  All of these firsts have certainly helped me to grow as a quilter!

Yay!  It's done!