Okay... I've
said it before. Finally attaching the blocks from my 2014 Skill Builder quilt scares the scrap out of me. But I set it as my goal for ALYOF this month, and my overachiever self hates not to meet a goal that has been made public. So last Friday night, sh!t got real, yo.
I primed myself by laying out the entire quilt on my design wall. I stared it down for a few days... building up my courage.
I read the instructions (more than once) and watched the class video (more than once). Then I got down to it. Yes, that's two different kinds of glue hanging out on my ironing board. The instructions called for glue basting, so glue baste I did!
And not too long after, this happened! My first sashing strip... and I didn't even have to rip anything out!
This is probably my favourite part of QAYG sashing... inserting that little strip of batting. I don't know why, but it brings me joy.
So much stitching... every ¼ inch of the sashing. We shan't discuss how many bobbins I had to wind.
It's like finishing this quilt was all I could think about for 4 days. Obsessed. But finish it I did.
You all know I hate trimming a finished piece. I was tempted to leave the 3 inch border strips alone, but I had purposely not fully quilted them so I would be forced to trim. The lengths I go to to...
I capitalized on sleeping DT and kept on keeping on - to make my binding. I've followed the letter of the law on this quilt (figured I wasn't going to learn many new skills just doing things the way I've always done them), but I couldn't bring myself to glue baste the borders or the binding. Enough already. Pass me the Wonderclips.
Can you believe it? This bad boy is all ready to have the binding hand stitched. No, I haven't gone completely to the dark side,
Dominique. I was tempted, just so I could finish this one ASAP. But a lot of time and effort has gone into this one. It's well worth the hand stitching.
Stay tuned for a Finish, dear readers! It's coming soon. And the photoshoot will likely feature snow... given that we got another 50+ cm dumped on us today!
I'm linking up today with Let's Bee Social with the
lovely Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts, as well as
WIP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced. Hope all my Nova Scotian quilty pals turned this Snow Day into a Sew Day.... and that they had their #stormfabric close at hand. ☺
J
Love finding new blogs to read and you hooked me with your first paragraph. I can totally relate to staring down the design wall for days!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to read that I'm not the only one that becomes obsessed when I am closing in on a finish. I can't wait to see the big finish!
ReplyDeleteYAY!! Congratulations! It looks fabulous! :) LOL stared it down for a few days - sometimes you just have to do that!! The pops of color you put in the binding - awesome!! Can't wait to see it all finished!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting your quilt together, it looked like a very satisfying journey. :) Totally agree that it's worth the time and effort to hand-finish the binding.
ReplyDeletebeautiful! I thought that skill builder BOM looked great, but never ended up doing it. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome!! I knew you could do it. I was too busy shovelling to get any sewing done today. sigh....
ReplyDeleteOh congratulations and hooray! I am so excited that you stared it down and conquered it. And even found the joy in the process - awesome. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulation on such a great finish and for tackling new technique, one that was scary turned into something that brought you joy! Who knew little batting strips had such power.
ReplyDeleteI have been completely inspired by this whole project. Hood for you for trying so many new things. Can't wait to see the big reveal!
ReplyDeleteGood even!
ReplyDeleteSleeping babies are a wonderful thing! Glad you jumped in and did it...can't wait to see the big reveal! Just the look of that little batting strip pleases me greatly...me thinks I might like me some QAYG one day. Now that you're a pro you can teach me! So much you need to teach me....
ReplyDeleteVisiting from Let's Bee Social.Wow! Your skill builder turned out beautifully.
ReplyDeleteOh it's beautiful! So vibrant and beautifully put together. I love it!
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I have been terrified to try QAYG- so you've totally inspired me.
ReplyDeleteooh, your weather! Our crocus are showing. But this is looking smashing!!! :)
ReplyDeleteReally beautiful quilt and quilting! Found you on Freshly Pieced today, thanks for sharing the QAYG photos.
ReplyDeleteWow! I can't decide what I like best about this--the colors, the quilting or the process of putting it all together. I'm glad you found your courage because you really did good!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a challenging quilt and it turned out beautiful! I especially like all of the detail.
ReplyDeleteI have never done quilt as you go, have it give it a try one day. Fabulous work. You quilt looks great!
ReplyDelete-Soma
Very nice. I love the quilting. Great to see this all pieced together.
ReplyDeleteI have never tried QAYG -- thanks for sharing pictures of your process. These blocks are stinking adorable and you are on the verge of completing a very cool quilt!! Question: with QAYG, is one edge of your sashing loose beyond the last row of quilting, or is there a way to secure it all the way to the edge? The only way I can think of would be to slip stitch it by hand (yikes!) or fuse the edge in place.
ReplyDeleteThis is really a fantastic quilt! I've thought about doing a quilt of mine as a QAYG, but I have to admit that I'm really more than nervous about stepping out and doing it. I've kind of put the idea out of my head and just decided to keep finishing blocks and cross that bridge when I get to it. Good luck in the home stretch!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Germany!
Allison
P.S. Really curious about the scissors… are they raw edge appliqué or another technique?
Great point about forcing yourself to follow the instructions and learn new skills. I have not seen the wide-sashing-quilt-as-you-go method with bits of wadding inserted like that. How cool! How amazing too that you are almost finished. This looks like an achievement to proudly hang on your sewing room walls.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I cannot wait to see this one. So much quilting and effort went into those skill builder BOM. I really have to try QAYG sometime....
ReplyDelete