What I did today

I started by ripping the cq squares. Instead of two rows of 9, I now have four rows of four and enough unattached squares for two more rows of four. I think I will make one pieces 4 squares X 4 squares and another 2 squares X 4 squares. After embellishment, I will donate the larger one for a charity auction and give the smaller one to the bride as a wall hanging.

Then I attacked the baby quilt. The instructions for sandwiching the quilt said "tape the backing face down to the floor. Lay the batting on top of the backing. Lay the top face up on top of the batting." So I meticulously tape, layer and layer. Then comes the part where the instructions say "if you're using fabric adhesive spray, first put a large sheet down on the floor (to catch the adhesive overspray) before you put down the backing." Thanks for telling me in advance. Oh, and also "said sheet should be ironed and wrinkle free". I'm already not happy. But do I iron the sheet? Not me, too lazy. I pin the three layers I've already put one on top of the other, lift the quilt, put down the the sheet, smoothing it with my hands, reposition the quilt, remove the pins and start spraying as per instructions, first one half, then the other. The top is great, the bottom, not so much. So I fuss and smooth and it's OK. Then I do the second half. Same process, same results. I am already royally aggravated. I mean, the designing and cutting and piecing and sewing was fun. This part is not. I finally get the thing more or less wrinkle free. Next one (see, I'm forever the optimist and know I will do this again), I will get end-of-the-roll unprinted newsprint (which doesn't require ironing) to tape down to the floor before the quilt layers. The paper can later be recycled.

Back upstairs to sew. I have a lovely variegated yellow/gold thread. I put on the walking foot, cover the feed plates. Do a few practice free-motion rows of stitching. Looking good. Feed in the fabric sandwich, do a row of free-motion meandering. It looks chalushus (sickly in Yiddish). Rip it out. Do over. Not much better. After the third rip, I decide enough for today.

Tomorrow, I go to plan B. I will cut out a template of a gentle wavy line and use the regular foot to do straight line sewing following the waves (apt because of the fish pattern, no?).

It's getting me to rethink the whole machine quilting finishing thing. I know it takes practice but I never learned to play a musical instrument properly because I didn't have patience to practise. I think my penchant for finding shortcuts has something to do with my lack of patience.

So I kind of ran out of steam earlier than I had intended but fear not, the long weekend still has one more day. Of course I'm going in to work tomorrow for a few hours, but when I return, I shall machine quilt.