Askew

Some days, even with the best of intentions, things do not go according to plans.  I slept poorly last night as a result of too much caffeine too late in the day.  I woke up this morning, fully intent on attending a charity sewing day to make quilts for the victims of the devastating Oklahoma tornadoes last month.  I started by searching in my Craft Cave for a quilt top I had already finished piecing but hadn't gotten around to quilting yet.

My plan was to press the top, press the backing fabric I had bought yesterday, use the Fusi-Boo batting to make the quilt sandwich and get on the road to the event.  Everything was going well until I flipped the sandwich to the backside, just to give it a once-over as I've done EVERY other time I've used this batting.  No can do.  The backing must have had too much sizing in it or some other alien life force because no matter how much water I sprayed on it or how hot the iron was, that backing was NOT going to stick to the fusible batting.  ARGGGHHH!!!!!  See the video for 'easy' instructions.

Okay, so three hours into the effort I realized I was going to have to pin baste everything, even though the top was fused to the batting.  I know, I was shaking my head too!  I grabbed my tin of basting safety pins (the kind that are curved) and basted away on my ironing board.  By the time I was done it was after noon.  NOON for goodness sake -- the event started at 9:30 am -- I was no longer fashionably late!

I made the decision to just stay home and get it quilted and then take it over to the event.  I brewed up some iced tea and got to work quilting the beast.  I went back to the kitchen to get the tin for the pins and decided while I was up, I'd make a pit stop in the bathroom.  BIG mistake, BIG!  I spilled the tin of pins in the sink and one of them went down the drain.  ARRRGGGGHHH!  Couldn't anything go right for me today???  I went back to the kitchen and found a magnet that I was sure would help me fish out the pin.  Nope.  It just pushed the safety pin down the drain instead.  As a matter of fact, yes, I did say a few choice words.

Back to quilting, I got the center of the top done, running out of bobbin thread with 5 inches to go -- perfect!  Then I started quilting the borders.  Now mind you, I was using my new-to-me Titanium sewing needles -- tougher, supposedly.  I'm here as a witness, that when you 'bump' into a basting pin, not once but twice, YOU WILL BREAK YOUR NEEDLES!  Third needle in place, I managed to finish quilting without drawing blood, in one hour.  I used a new-to-me thread to quilt called Magnifico! by Superior Threads in a charcoal gray shade and at times it looks dusty blue on the quilt, but I like it.  I sewed the binding on and got it into the washing machine.  I really need to launder quilts with the fusible batting so I can get rid of any chemicals and/or alien life forces.  Plus I like to see it get all crinkly from shrinking.

 I think it will make a nice quilt for a boy or even an older gentleman, don't you??  Here's a close up of my quilting.  Very simply done, didn't want anything girly on it!

I completely missed the charity event today so I will have to deliver the quilt directly to Karen, who was heading up the effort.  After the day I've had I just want to go to sleep...........