Keeping Busy

Murphey's Law:

If you thread multiple needles in order to save time, someone will invariably brush up against them and tangle them all.

 

I was able to talk Darren into helping.  

He was as anxious as I was to get this quilt off the living room floor.  He quickly realized that the short, straight needles were not ideal basting needles.  

He made a quick trip to Wal Mart and returned with some longer sewing needles that he proceeded to bend into a curve.  They were not pretty, but they certainly did help to get the job done.

All told, I (we) spent a total of six and a half hours basting this quilt. 

I haven't started the hand quilting process yet.  I think I owe it to my fingers to give them a little rest & recovery time before I start pricking them again.  I certainly did a number on them while basting.  Luckily, I didn't get any blood on the quilt top.

I'm also doing the Craftsy Block of the Month and have completed the third block...Balkan Puzzle.  

I've ripped it apart once and pieced it back together.  I decided that half-square triangles need to be pressed open and not to the dark as the instructions say.  

I also decided to trim them and square them up before re-assembling them.  

I am still not getting a perfectly accurate 1/4" seam so the block is a little larger that it needs to be.  

I may rip it apart again if I can't resign myself to losing the points of the red fabric.

The kids came in after I had trimmed my blocks and entertained themselves with the trimmings.

James made a "Robot Guy"

Meredith created this "straight" Tower of Pisa