Finally got to the quilting and what a relief it was! I’m quite excited by the idea of using this gorgeous red thread for quilting instead of my usual cream-colored Gutermann thread. I bought a King Tut cranberry red. It is variegated and the color is rich.
My only issue now is having this enormous quilt in my lap during the summer months. I know I’m not going to get this done in two weeks and even Christmas is a pipe dream, but I’m going to TRY.
No, definitely not going to make it in time
I’m just about to reach the halfway mark and it took the whole weekend to get that far. And that’s just the basting. I estimate that it takes at least 4 times as long to quilt than to baste and I’m pretty sure that’s a conservative estimate. I’m aiming for Christmas as my deadline now but even that is extraordinarily optimistic.
I also finally know the sex of the new baby! Time to start looking for girly fabrics! And decide on the design. And stay focused on the wedding quilt. Shhh…
Am I going to get it done in time?
I am having serious doubts I’ll be even close to finishing the quilting, let alone the binding and any embroidery. 
Irish Chain Variation
I started this quilt ages ago. Years. In fact, according to this photo, I was still piecing it in April 22, 2007! I’ve dragged it out and ironed it flat. It is now going to be a wedding gift for a good friend. I’m looking forward to quilting it though I’m still undecided how I’m going to quilt it. So much blank space to fill…
I like the idea of transforming this UFO into a gift.
Hunters Star Baby Quilt Completed!
It is done, washed and dried! I love the crinkliness of it, too! Makes it seem much fluffier cuddly.
The backing looks better after the quilting as well. All in all, I’m very pleased with how it came out.
Would a Double Wedding Ring quilt be weird for a baby quilt?
The Hunters Star baby quilt is washed and drying on the rack. I’ll take some photos of it tomorrow. In the meantime, my thoughts have turned to the next baby quilt for another friend. After browsing quilts on Pinterest and the internet, I decided to grab the EQ7 file that Linda has thoughtfully provided. The above quilt measures 50″x50″ using the Inklingo collection and including the border. If the quilt were to end with the outer rings, I suppose it would measure 30″x30″.
Last turn!
Finally turned the last corner and the quilt will be complete very shortly! Then it’ll be thrown into the washing machine for the final test!
The Binding: penultimate step complete
Confession: I suffer from over-confidence which means that even when I’ve done it before, I’ll make mistakes. Annoying mistakes that waste time and materials. Thinking that I’ve learned my lesson enough times, I played it safe with making the binding by not trying to do the endless loop method. I like the idea, but I screw it up too often to make it as efficient as it should be. That went fine. I sewed and ironed and then started sewing the binding to the quilt. All was well, I was getting excited. When I got close to the other end, I did my backstitches and followed what I remembered from this lumpless binding tutorial. Except I got it wrong. Of course. I’m guessing most of you won’t have to imagine my dismay upon discovering, AFTER cutting the seam allowance, that I had sewn the last bit incorrectly. Instead of putting the ends at 90 degrees to each other, I lined them up square and then sewed on the 45 degree angle. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I had to sew more binding on, unstitch a ways to give myself room after cutting off the incorrect angle and then do it correctly. I’ve excluded the fact that it took a good 10 minutes of puzzling to figure out where I went wrong.
But I fixed it and the hard part is done. Now to hand-stitch the rest of the binding down!
Getting to the end: The Binding
I am about 2 hours from finishing the quilting on this which means that I now have to think about the binding. I didn’t have anything planned, so I went through my stash and picked out the above fabrics. I think I’m going to go with the purple. It feels more aligned with the colors in the quilt.
I’m excited to complete another quilt and can move onto the next one!
Another baby quilt
Once again, an announcement has sent me rushing back to my ideas notebook on Evernote and old quilting magazines to find a lovely genderless baby quilt design that also reflects the personality of the future parents.
I know I want to use Inklingo because a lot of the piecing will be done on my commute. There are so many ways to go with this quilt. The mother is a long and dear friend from junior high and I want this to be extra special.
Here are the notes I have so far. I am still undecided on design and fabric. I’ve looked at so many online fabric bundles, too. I’ve considered a Hawaiian appliqué quilt, Hawaiian fabrics (she lives in Hawaii, did you guess?) and looked through the Inklingo shopping book.
I find exploring ideas on paper helps bring some focus and reminds me of other trains of thought. I’m still not sure about anything, but at least I have until April to get it done!
More Alabama Chanin DIY Swing Skirt
Status of the skirt as of today:
At the rate I’m going, it might be done before Thanksgiving!