DaGMT Update

Ok we've had the first 7 days of Drop and Give Me Twenty and so far I've been very successful.  I've done some type of sewing/quilting related activity every day. Some more productive than others, but I'm just happy that I've gotten something done each day.

The first which was Saturday, I spent my time piecing the back for the coral paisley quilt and ironing it and the top so they were ready to load.  I was quite shocked at the seams on the top, but it was pieced in 2008 and my skills have improved some (not a lot, but some).  The top was also really wrinkled since it had been sitting in a tub for several years. I do love a freshly pressed top and back.  :)

On the 2nd which was Sunday and Superbowl Sunday., I loaded the top and back of the coral paisley quilt onto my Handiquilter frame.  It took about 45 minutes, because I loaded the top wrong and didn't realize it at first.  I had to undo it and re-load it. I'm getting better, it normally only takes me about 30 minutes to load the top and back.  I use Red Snappers which makes the process oooh so much easier!!!!

When the game got boring, I just had to find something else to do.  So I started folding fabric.  We bought a lot of fabric when our local JoAnn's was moving and they closed out everything in their old store.  It had been sitting in a big box and I wanted to get it folded and onto my fabric book case. This is only a small section of the fabric, but I felt good about getting something accomplished.

On Monday I quilted the coral paisley quilt.  It took well over my 20 minutes, but it was great getting it done. And what was even better was I really loved how the quilting looked.  It's not perfect, but I am seeing a real improvement, which is what I want.  

Because I took a long lunch with a friend, I didn't feel up to trimming it, so that was for Tuesday the 4th.  I trimmed it, made the binding, made the label and bound it.  Now this took a while, but I have to admit, I'm starting to like binding.  Not the actual process, but the idea that the quilt is almost done.

And it is done!!!!!!  I can honestly say, I love finishing quilts.  The sense of accomplishment is great, but also the feeling of wrapping it around you, is just wonderful.  I love my Handiquilter, because it makes this all possible.

On Wednesday the 5th (which was Sharla's birthday), we had lunch out, and then I pieced the backing for the Skipping Squares quilt.  The fabrics for this quilt where some we bought at JoAnn's, but I didn't have anything that would look good as the back.  So I went and found some that had the right colors in it.  I had to wash, press and piece the backing as well as press the top. I love the colors in this quilt, the blues, yellows and tans are just so spring like and we need that with all this cold weather.

So now we are on Thursday, which was the toughest day so far.  I was very very very tired and really didn't want to do anything.  I did fold some more fabric, and have it almost all folded.  Then I decided I needed to get my Trails End quilt up onto the design wall.  The problem with that is it is very hard to photograph and once it was up I really didn't like any of my layouts.  I finally just snapped this photo and said I would play with it more later. I didn't turn on enough lights so it is a sucky picture, but I got my 20 minutes in for the day.

And that brings us to Friday, the 7th.  While watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, I pull all the quilt tops I could find, and matched them to the backing fabric.  I know of at least 3 that are still packed somewhere.  But then Sharla and I went through the tops and several of our todo projects to see if we had thread to quilt them with or not.  We plan on going to the store to buy thread today and since it is a little far away, we wanted to get samples of as many projects as possible.  The only way to get on our to buy list was to have the top and backing fabric or all of the fabric and backing fabric for the project.  I think we have about 10 projects where we need thread.  The rest we were able to use from our stash of thread. Now this photo might look like a mess, but it is really a good thing.  Backing fabric is right next to completed tops.  So there is organization that isn't quite view-able.

So that is my first week of Drop and Give Me Twenty.  Overall I'm very satisfied with what I got done.  I know without the challenge that I wouldn't have gotten most of the fabric folded, the Trails End quilt onto my design wall or even all the tops and backing fabrics matched.  Could I have done more, sure, but I'm ok with where I am.