1.31.2011

I was right to be afraid

I spent most of the day Saturday planning other projects and stalling on quilting Cartoon Pinball. The stalling yielded this prettiness:


but when noon on Sunday rolled around, I faced the fact that I wasn't going to have a chunk of free time again for another week or so and got to work quilting.

I tackled the middle part first, because I anticipated it being the hardest, and yes. It was. It was really difficult.



I firmly believe that cinnamon-roll-rolling a quilt causes the layers to shift badly, so I fan-folded the end that went into the throat of the machine instead. Nonetheless, the whole time I was quilting, I felt like I'd have a lot of thread-pulling-out to do once I got to the end and took a look at the whole thing. It was a pleasant surprise that I could easily live with it.

The one comment I've gotten most from people (in all areas of my life) is that my handwriting is tiny. One of my highschool teachers blamed me for her having to give in and get bifocals. We think that my small but legible handwriting also won us points in the eyes of our current landlords, who had a zillion applications for this place. Every workplace, every application, every freaking deposit slip I've filled out has involved someone saying "Oh, your handwriting's so tiny!"

My latest theory is that tiny handwriting corresponds with tiny fmq motifs. And on this quilt, I was writing in 200-point font, or at least trying to. I worried that I'd start at 200-point and by the end I'd be back down to my preferred 10. My first fmq sports stipple curves that are miniscule compared to these. I could've finished that whole 30x30 quilt in 10 minutes if I'd been stitching motifs this size.

From what I can tell, though, I didn't regress too badly.


Next, I cut the edges and then bind. That probably won't happen until next weekend. Until then, I'll be fighting off the urge to whip up another quilt top using blues and greens, because that stack of new fabric is sitting there, looking all nice together.

Happy quilting!

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