Just do it

I finally got out thread and needle yesterday. I've been looking at my flimsies for weeks thinking I should get at least one of them to quilting stage, but never getting beyond the thinking stage. I needed to think about quilting lines. I needed to add a bit more border, etc. etc. Procrastination.

"Oh, to heck with it. Just do it!"

Grabbed the backing I'd bought in the States for the Wonky Love quilt. AARRGH!! I didn't buy enough! I've done it again! I miscalculated the amount of fabric I need! I could have hit my head against a wall! And I'd spent so much time just finding the perfect backing! Was this quilt going back in the cupboard or was I just going to do it no matter what the setbacks? I dove back into the drawers and there was some gorgeous fabric that Liz had sent me, and it was extra wide! Even that alone wasn't enough for this quilt, but if I combined...

"Let me see... Mary had a tutorial for making an off center 4 patch backing..."

I searched that out on Mary's blog and followed directions and though the two widths made for an even more off-set backing, it did turn into one backing! Kind of pretty colors and with the top so hodge-podge and colorful the pieced backing may even be better than the soft yellow I'd planned.

Next to baste the thing. Not going to use safety pins because I already had decided that this was just too big to push around under the sewing machine. And with hand quilting I really feel more comfortable using a hoop and the safety pins don't work well with the hoop.

Oh dear. The room is too small for the quilt. Did that mean that I was going to fold everything up and wait until I could use Mrs. Furui's larger room? No. That would mean more delays. JUST DO IT! Spread out as well as I could. Get out the wrinkles but that wasn't as easy as said. Spread out the batting. Spread out the flimsy. Very tight fit on the batting. More trying to get the wrinkles out (while walking on the quilt as there was no floor space left to walk on.)

At about that point Takumi came in looking like he wanted me (he was also stepping on the quilt trying to get to his computer and find clean socks.)

"I know. You want me to take you to the station."

(He was headed out for some traveling around Japan.)

"No, no. You look very busy. I'll ride my skateboard to the station. Just came to say good-bye."

"Listen. You help me spread out this quilt and get the wrinkles out of it and I'll take you to the station. Fair enough?"

So my son did his first (and probably last) bit of quilt maneuvering.


"You spend more time doing your quilting hobby than anyone I know."

"Well, sorry about that. I have friends who do more you know. It's not like I just sit around quilting all day."

I was feeling a bit testy because of all the wrestling with the quilt.

"No. I didn't mean it that way. I meant that you have a great hobby and it is nice that you are so devoted to it."

"Thank you. I'm sorry I snapped at you."

Between Takumi and myself we got the quilt all laid out nicely and warning the cats not to dare think of having a cat fight on my laid out quilt I left it and took Takumi to the station.

Back at home I spent about an hour basting and by evening my quilt was ready to be quilted. I've decided to stitch-in-the-ditch around all the letters and worry about the white spaces later on. It is MUCH too hot to be quilting and yesterday evening I sat in front of the electric fan to put in the first stitches but I may resort to the air-conditioner pretty soon. Should I lay this aside until it gets cooler? JUST DO IT!