My quilt survived the wash ... and feels wonderful and warm. I am wrapped up in it as I write. That trip through the washer completes my reasoning for this quilt. I'm not sure if you can really create a quilt out of laziness but that is how this one started: I had this lovely bag of scraps from Erin but I wanted to wash them before they went into my stash and I was just too lazy to wash and press that many little pieces. I knew they would fray and leave bits of thread everywhere and it just seemed like it would be easier to wash them without any of the raw edges showing. So I sewed them all together and made a quilt.

I had no idea what this would look like when I started. The scraps are very random and range from tiny little calicos to novelty prints of candy and insects. There are two different hot chili fabrics. Some pieces were large strips while others were tiny rectangles. There was even a small collection of triangles. It was so exciting to see things come together that I could hardly stand to work on anything else. I owe thanks to Blair of Wisecraft for the idea of using a solid colour for the binding and flannel for the backing. The flannel is so soft and warm and the binding really pulls everything together.


I spent almost the whole time I was piecing trying to figure out how I would quilt this. With so many little seams I was worried that machine quilting would result in a stiff quilt instead of the squashiness I was hoping for. I liked the idea of tying the quilt but I know from experience that Abby will happily spent an afternoon pulling out every last one. My compromise was to tie the quilt with bars of satin stitch on my machine (there is a quilt finished this way in Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts). I love the effect but did not enjoy the day spent tying off and sewing in all those little thread ends.


This quilt will live in our family room and I plan to spend plenty of time this winter curled up under it with a good book. It finished up at about 160 x 200 cm (65" x 80") making it a perfect size for curling up under without being too big. Abby and Zeke have both show a liking for this quilt while it was under production and I expect it will be regularly covered in a layer of insulating pet hair (what a good thing I know it can survive the wash).

I'm totally panicked - the quilt I just finished is making its inaugural trip through the washer and I don't know what will happen.

Finished:

A new pair of underwear from Jalie pattern number 2568. These are the hipster style. I find them a little low in the back for my taste but still very comfortable. The pattern doesn't give any direction on how long to cut the waist and leg elastics and my guesses were a little bit off. I think I might even skip the leg elastic next time I make this style. I love this ruffle trim though; it's so cute.

In progress:

I have a finished quilt top and a pile of freshly washed and pressed flannelette to back it with. I still need to make a label for the back and sew the backing together. I'd like to hand baste the sandwich together instead of using pins this time and that means waiting until Abby goes to bed so I can lay things out on the kitchen floor without interference. Zeke gave his seal of approval last night when I had everything on the floor in my studio.


Started:

Canned asian pears in light honey syrup. I finally got myself some canning equipment. My plan was to make apple sauce but the idea of home canned pears was so appealing I got some of those too. I'm not sure if I'll get to the apple sauce after the pears are finished or if that will wait until tomorrow.