Wrestling the waffle...

Amaizin' Blue is done, but not without some lessons learned:

• As enticing as cuddly, stretchy waffle fleece may appear in the store, it's not the most cooperative when it comes to quilt backing.
• Spray basting does not stick to this stuff, so you have to pin the daylights out of it perpendicular to the quilting direction so it won't slip.
• Pick up an extra package of basting pins (or two) while you're at Joann's so you don't have to make a return trip.
• Do minimal quilting, preferably only in one direction to avoid pinches on the back.
• Use a long stitch length.
• This would really be a bear without a walking foot.
• A heavier polar fleece would probably have been a better choice (less stretch).
• Don't use batting unless you really like to complicate things and enjoy ripping out stitches.

On a side note, has anyone else noticed how flimsy the newer Dritz basting pins are? Compared to the ones I bought about six years ago, these new ones are considerably more bendy (read: cheap) and give way too readily -- which means the cat (and little fingers) can actually open them now.

All in all, I'm happy with the quilt. It's lightweight but still cuddly -- Archie tested, Archie approved -- and it washed up wonderfully, but it took me longer to pin baste the darn thing than it did to actually quilt it. So it may be a while before I use this as a backing again.
 
On the upside, it's another one done way before Christmas! Woo-woo!

More progress...

...of all sorts, I'm happy to report!

Two out of three UFO's have been checked off my list. One Christmas gift is complete, and another should be done by tonight. I could go on about how much I adore the striped binding I made for it, but I won't -- I don't want to sound like a total quilt geek.

Yeah, it's probably too late for that.

Yes, that's a toilet paper roll. Don't laugh, it works.

I've saved the hardest -- or rather, the most problematic UFO for last. I'm still playing with the layout, and nothing is working so far...but I'll keep plugging away. It's gotta become something within the next few days or I'm going to have to break down and take a trip to Toys 'R Us. Ugh.

Let's pray that doesn't happen.

A little amazin' blue...

Just some inside University of Michigan reference, there...though I don't know how good of an idea this is, given the big Maize & Blue finished their season in last place in the Big Ten this year -- for the first time since 1962.

Zheesh.

It seems a fitting Christmas gift for its intended recipient, who shall, at this point, remain nameless...but might be able to figure it out that it's for them, anyway. I'm just that transparent.

See Jane sew...

In an effort to work off my Thanksgiving food hangover, I took a long walk on Friday toward downtown Chicago and ended up at the Metropolitan Capital Bank, a very low-key institution located in the recently restored Tree Studios at State & Ontario -- not out of coincidence.

Metropolitan Capital Bank Chicago, CannonDesign (owpp.com)

This quaint little bank (which doesn't feel like a bank at all) is running a program called "Art Works Chicago" to showcase prominent local artists -- and its current installment is devoted to Jane Sassaman and her quilts. I have admired her work ever since I started quilting and think it's nothing short of amazing to begin with, but seeing it up close? All I can say is...WOW.

There are well over a dozen of her pieces on display. Some of them were familiar to me, others brand new. The pièce de résistance is "Willow," named one of the "Best American Quilts of the Century," and definitely deserves the title. This quilt gave me goosebumps years ago when I first saw a picture of it, and there it was!

"Willow" by Jane Sassaman, 1996

75" x 75"

It's much larger than I expected, and as a result, very overwhelming, there's so much going on. I could have looked at it, awestruck, for hours, but the bankers seemed to be eager to use their conference room so I went on my way to go home and sew something. Jane's website indicates you can call the bank for a viewing appointment, which might be better so you're not wandering through people's workspaces like I was -- they're probably used to it by now, but it was a little weird for me.

The quilts are there until January 14. If you're in Chicago, there is no excuse big enough not to get your quilty butt down there and see what greatness looks like. And come away inspired.

************

And sorry for the delayed announcement, but Stephanie D is the winner of the orange and purple giveaway fabric, as determined by Archie (I put names on scraps of paper and left them in a pile on my desk -- the first one to hit the ground was the winner, and it didn't take long!). Congratulations, Stephanie!

Beach blanket bingo...

It's very rare that I start and finish a quilt in one fell swoop -- that is, cut, pieced, quilted and bound without starting in on another project first. Typically, I get through the piecing phase and then bounce off to something else (and something else, and something else...) and don't get back to the actual quilting and finishing until, say, two days before I have to deliver it. So I don't know why this one was an exception.

If I overanalyze the process that went into this, I might find a cure for my Crafter's A.D.D. -- and that would ruin my creativity forever! I won't even begin to think about it.

Anyway, here's the quilt. And Lea, if you're reading, you might want to stop now, because this is your Christmas present.

My sister-in-law Lea loves purple and orange together. So rather than impose these big bold prints on the interior design of their house (which is most decidedly not purple and orange), I made the family a beach blanket. They have a vacation home high on a bluff above Lake Michigan near Ludington, MI, where they spend most of their summers hanging out on the sand.

Nothing fancy, I used 10" alternating blocks in fun "Finlandia" Merimekko-like Free Spirit prints that I've had hanging around for a few years just waiting for this kind of project. I put rock pockets in the corners and bound it with my favorite bright green-on-green print. For some reason, I just love this orange/purple/green color combination!

The back is from the same fabric line, though I stitched down some green squares here and there so the binding wouldn't come as such a shock.

It's a happy quilt, destined for some happy times. And finished more than a month before it's due!

To celebrate the rarity of a quilt conceived and completed well inside its deadline, I'm having my first-ever giveaway! I'm offering a yard of each of these gargantuan "Finlandia" prints (floral, squiggle and boxes, three yards total...and OK, they're big, but not "gargantuan," I just like that word) to a lucky reader who has left me a comment since I started this blog (and today doesn't count, sorry).

Just leave a comment and let me know what your favorite Thanksgiving side dish is. And thank you for all your responses over the past sixteen months -- it really is nice to know someone's actually reading my words and they aren't just dissipating into the blogosphere! Entries will be accepted through this Wednesday and the winner picked (randomly or, perhaps the one with the best-sounding side dish? Who knows?) at noon on Black Friday. One entry per person, please.

My first giveaway! I'm getting all excited about picking a winner already!

Next time...

...he's coming into the bathroom with me.

Identifying some UFO's...

I've joined Jacquie's UFO Challenge.

There are more unfinished projects hidden around my house than I care to admit. Her timing couldn't be better, because I'm running out of places to stash them.

While I'd love to get them all off my plate by the new year, I'm being realistic and have narrowed it down to three. Originally I thought five would be doable, but let's face it, Christmas is on its way and there's a lotta other sewing that needs to be done as well.

The first one is a "Summer in the City" charm top that I started probably three years ago, and didn't have enough squares to get the size I wanted (two of the pieces were mis-cut). There were many additional excuses made (discontinued fabric, nothing in the stash that I wanted to substitute, hangnails, dust bunnies, yadda yadda yadda), and the project stalled.

Yeah, it doesn't take much to bounce me off to the next shiny project. I'm not proud of it.

Anyway, I was driving back from Michigan last month and found a little quilt shop with a whole bunch of "Summer in the City" leftovers. No more excuses, I have more than enough fabric to get it done.

My Two-Color Improv quilt was supposed to be a charity quilt for Lent last spring, and got reprioritized for who-knows-what while I was halfway through quilting it. This one shrieked so much guilt whenever I walked past it I hid it in a closet. It's just time to get it out the door.

Many of you may remember the Safari Bento Box. That project got shelved because I just couldn't figure out what to do with those busy busy blocks, they just weren't doin' it for me. When I dug them out last week, they said "Christmas present!" and I'm determined to make them work. Somehow.

So that's it, the Big Three. Thanks, Jacquie, for the kick in the pants I needed to get these finished -- now that I have the blogosphere to answer to, maybe it'll be easier!

Now I need to get to work.