Today was our BOM - Sweet Tea and if you read the blog you will now that before this class started (March 2010) I had the centre of the top done - that means all the teapot blocks. The following class (April 2010) I had managed to get the first border on......The next class (May 2010) nothing! However I did have all of the teacup blocks cut up and partially sewn so I was definitely on my way.....
Since I was so organized today and lunch was basically a matter of a little cooking and then serving I set up my machine to sew with the class. This is a very unusual occurance as most of my customers wonder when I ever get to do any quilting.....I managed to put the teacup blocks together with the saucers and the connecting blocks together with their borders, that was about it.
After running out to the grocery store yet again for one last forgotten item which I needed for tomorrow's lunch, I decided to have dinner at the store and continue working on my borders.....I got the second border on....
I have now figured out why I never seem to get anything done! This particular "project" is a store sample. The first snag occurred when the fabrics arrived very late for me to start, but, I worked diligently and got all of the blocks done in about 2 weeks (I think I blogged it back in February). It was ready to show the girls in the class how to do the blocks......that was fine. It was immediately put aside and forgotten while I went on to work on the next "rush" project, I think it was the Mystery Quilt for April, which was replaced by the next project on the list......etc., etc., etc.!
It's no wonder we all find ourselves with UFO's (Unfinished Objects)! It's also no wonder we constantly resolve to finish those UFO's. Well - let's see if I can actually do just that! I resolve to finish Sweet Tea by the next class which is July 11th, 2010! (Easier said than done of course!) Maybe since it's in red - I will feel the urgency of this resolution!
As an aside I would like to mention BORDERS! Working on a quilt like this, it is extremely important that measurements are accurate. The one thing I love about The Quilt Company patterns is that the instructions are constantly reminding you of the measurements of your quilt top. Each section is clearly defined.
When I first learned to quilt I was never told the tricks of putting on borders and so, like so many quilters, I would finish my quilt top centre and "slap" on the borders. I would just cut and piece my border, without taking any care to measure the top, sew on the border and then cut it to fit the top as it was. Guess what - Wonky Borders! I can't tell you how many wonky borders I had!
They become even more evident after you've quilted them......I mean really wavy!
Barb was watching me do this one day (about 3 years ago) and gasped! She said, "Don't you measure???" I looked at her like she was crazy and said - "Why would I do that - I just fit it to the top!"
She immediately gave me a lesson on borders which I am happy to report now forms an important part of my Beginner Quiltmaking class. Measure your quilt across at the centre of the quilt, measure across at the bottom and top of your quilt - take the smallest measurement and cut your border pieces to that measurement, pin (yes I said PIN!) both ends and then every 4" in between easing the quilt top as you go to fit the border. Do the same thing for the sides remembering to measure the centre first top to bottom.....do this for each border you ad! This virtually eliminates the Wonky Border.....
Hope this helped, I know it works for me!
Happy Quilting!
Jo-Ann
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