Turns out we had the fifth largest snowfall in Chicago history on Sunday, though those of us near the lakefront got a few bonus inches beyond the records, which are recorded at the airports a few miles inland. 21+ inches of snow fell on us continuously for 33 hours straight -- it was gorgeous, and heavy, and my back is still complaining that I didn't work out more over the summer. Or ever.
The next day we were greeted by the most glorious cloudless azure sky. Temps were only in the mid-teens, but with the sun out, I was clearing snow (again) without a coat.
My neighbor's roof. I wonder how long that drift is going to hang there?
In between trips out to shovel, I finished piecing my snowball top together.
Snowing inside AND out!
I did a couple things different with this top: first, I did all the piecing with my walking foot. I read (or heard, can't remember where) something about that being more accurate, but I'm still on the fence about it -- not so sure the results were any better or worse than usual. I'm much more comfortable doing scant seams with the quarter-inch foot, using the edge as a guide. Not having that edge with the walking foot laid me open to some wandering; the quarter-inch foot offers much better visibility.
Secondly, I put the blocks together in six chunks of 15. I've always been a row-sewer, and this was much less tedious than sewing long rows of nine or ten blocks together. I'm definitely going to take this approach in the future.
Overall, my flippy-corner stitching leaves something to be desired. I bisected my 2" squares with a pencil line before stitching them down, and, for the most part, did a good job of sewing just a hair beside it, but there are a few places where I was so far off even a little coaxing wouldn't get those points to match. Reminding myself that Dad isn't going to be scrutinizing my seams while napping under it, I relaxed a little and most of them fall wherever they wanted.
Still thinking about adding a border to make it a little bigger and nap-friendly. Depends on this week's workload -- and the weather. More snow is in the forecast!
4 comments:
It's a beautiful top and by the time it is quilted and laundered, the little inconsistencies will not be noticeable. Looking forward to seeing complete quilt and border decision.
Such pretty plaids! Cheerful quilt. Hope the neighbors shared some of that shoveling with you.
Save the perfect corners for quilt shows, this is for love and your dad will give a a five star rating for certain! As for that snow we got, sheesh, my shoulders ache from the clearing of it all even using a little snow blower. I measured 22 inches in the back yard here. It is only beautiful until the cars, trucks etc turn it all mucky. Ah well spring will get here!
It looks terrific! I hate marking those little triangles, so I use the Angler 2.
I'm sure your dad will love it.
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