projects.

I've been working on this quilt for my dad for...oh....about two years. Not actively working the whole time, but still it's been weighing on my mind for quite a while. It's time for me to finish it.

I worked really hard on it at first, cutting out all the hundreds of rectangles and sewing them into strips. But then I realized that I'd made a large error-- I'd forgotten to add seam allowance to the pieces, so every block was a good half-inch smaller than it should have been. Suddenly my dad's queen-size quilt was more twin-size. So that took some of the wind out of my sails. Also, I bought all the fabric at JoAnn's, so it's really not good quality, and I'm noticing more and more that if I don't use good fabric, I quickly lose interest in my sewing project. So I put this one away for a long time. It wasn't until last October when I started really thinking about finishing it, and I've been working on the hand-quilting since then. I would say that I'm nearly halfway done (!).

The main thing pushing me through the tedious hand-quilting (I'm quilting an X through each block, and it is taking a really really long time) is that I have decided not to start any other project until I finish this one. Also, I really can't wait to see my dad's face when I give it to him (it's a surprise)! I love surprises.

Some of my motivation? These fun projects:

relabeling my kitchen bottles
a doily print bag
furoshiki
a camera strap for my mom
undies
something from the stylish dress book
pajama pants
for the kitchen
necklaces!