FF: The Quilt that Almost Broke Me.

It's done. The Sissy Love Quilt, aka, the Quilt that Almost Broke Me.

I haven't been quilting too terribly long, but still. This quilt should NOT have been this painful. And yet, every step of the process seemed to bring misery and horror and shame. Yes, Friends. Even shame.

(Okay, so maybe not shame, per se, but definitely misery and horror!)

This is as close to a full shot of the QTABM that I could wrangle. The quilt top is rectangles, peeps. Rectangles. Not even on-point rectangles. (This quilt should not have caused so much pain!)

I miscut fabric. I did my quilty math incorrectly, causing me to panic and think I had severely under-purchased fabric. Since the store I purchased the fabric at was over three hours away, it's not like I could just hop in the car and hope it was still there. When I did finally start piecing it, the top came together easily, but I had worked myself into such distress that it took me a few days to get up the nerve to even look at it.

The easy piecing lulled me into a false sense of security. So much so, that I thought the quilting--double lines 6" apart on the diagonal--would be a breeze. It was not. It was horrible. I used painter's tape to mark my lines, which was a bad idea because the tape shifted when I was sewing. Then, when I was about 3/4 of the way through, Agatha started having fits, and she would quilt an inch, and then the thread would shred and snap. Then, when I finally finished the quilting, I found puckering in the flannel backing.

It. Was. Awful.

I decided to machine sew the binding because I needed to be done with this quilt, and pronto. The binding isn't perfect, but it is done, meaning I am a happy girl.

So, here it is. The Sissy Love Quilt. Finished. Done. Finito.

I'm linking up with TGIFF at Quilt Matters with M-R and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. You should link up too!

This was a part of my Q2 Finish-A-Long list, woo!

WIP: April Showers Edition.

This past week has seen less work than usual, primarily because spring has finally arrived, and the lovely sunshine has prompted me to spend a lot of time outside with my kidlets. Alas, it's raining today, and the light has been splotchy all day, which means lousy pictures, but some good work done on projects. 

My oldest kidlet is finally tall enough to start holding up baby quilts. (Woo!) Unfortunately, he's not very steady with his hands, and he kept dropping the sides, so I snapped this quickly and moved on. This quilt is for Jamie, or more specifically, for her incoming baby. I've got to figure out a backing option, but it's coming along.

I started piecing my QBB quilt blocks together. Yes, those are fat kitties. If you like kitties, they are great. If you don't like kitties....

Since my QBB quilt has to be bound by machine, so I thought I would practice on my Sissy Love quilt, aka, The Quilt that Almost Broke Me. I'll talk more about *that* adventure on Friday because I should have a finished Sissy Love quilt by then. Unless it does, in fact, break me, and then you can find me slamming my head onto my sewing table and muttering gibberish.

I used this tutorial from Rachel of Stitched in Color, and I really like the look of the zigzag stitch on the front. I think it adds a bit more texture, and on this minimalistic quilt, that's welcome, at least by me!

So far, my back is sloppy in places, but mostly straight and steady. Because I'm in a hurry to get this quilt done and out of my life, I'm not working as slowly as I should, and if I'd take my time with it, I know it would look cleaner. But whatevsies. I'm getting 'er done!

(And no, I didn't abandon Agatha for a newer model. Agatha doesn't rock a zigzag stitch, so I've borrowed a friend's Janome for a couple of days.)

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced! You should too! 

WIP: Flimsy Edition.

I finished this quilt top yesterday, and I was all set to start quilting, until I realized I had neglected to pick up batting! (Oops.) This quilt will be for my friend Val, who had a very specific idea of what she wanted, and because she paid for the fabric I love her so much, I didn't completely refuse her input, though I will confess that I did a few things differently than our "plan". She wants straight line quilting, so that's what I'll be doing! Though this is the first time I think I'll have to mark my lines. The top currently measures about 45" x 60", and she's very excited about it, so I better pick up some batting, and soon! 

I'm linking up today with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

WIP: Getting Back in Gear Edition.

Before we get started on WIP goodness, have you entered my blogiversary giveaway for some Aurifil and some Timber & Leaf? If not, get a move on that!

I spent this last weekend in Chicago with one of my best friends (who I call Sissy because I adopted her as a third sister) and my two kids and her two kids. Let me set the stage a little bit: one hotel room, four kids under four with both babies suffering teething pains. I'm sure our neighbors LOVED us. But everyone survived, and we all had a grand time. I saw the Picasso display at the Art Institute, I bought shoes--woo!--and we even managed to fit in some fabric shopping for a quilt I've promised to make my Sissy.

Since this quilt will be using linen, quilting cottons, and flannel, I'm pre-washing everything to avoid crazy shrinkage problems. Hopefully all of the textiles will play fairly. Instead of finding a fun design, Sissy fell in love with the pieced back of a quilt from One Shabby Chick. Sissy wants something very minimalist in fabrics and design, relying heavily on texture to add additional flavor so I am making her a quilt back...for her quilt front.

Hot pink? Yes, please!

Sissy is known for her intense bargain shopping abilities, and when I'm with her, I get amazing deals too. I picked up these shoes for a song! And I shouldn't be so surprised, but we wound up purchasing all of the fabric for her quilt for $30. This will be at least a 50" x 70" quilt. $30. I'm in shock. The woman just attracts bargains. For example, she found some end of bolt Kona coal that was discounted, then an additional 50% off. Nearly a yard for under $3. (I don't know how she does it.)

I did polish off my February Lucky Stars block and pick out fabric for March's block.

I've also finished one Sisters' 10 block, and I'm working on the second. I'm really excited about both of my blocks for the Make It Modern bee, and I've got so many fun things to do this month. It's a shame it's already the fifth and I've spent the first four days of the month playing around Chicago!

What are you up to this week? I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday which is being hosted this week by Claire of Sewing Over Pins. I'll leave you with the view from my front door. Yuck.....and now, it's back to work!