Pickin' and Grinnin'

I know this is a funny title for a blog post, but if you keep reading, you will quickly catch on.

Several years ago I made a new quilt for my oldest daughter and her husband. I made them one about 10 years ago and the two of them were fighting over it constantly! So, I decided to make them a second throw quilt so they each have their own to snuggle under while they watch TV in the evening.

I love quick and easy patterns and my daughter loves simple, clean lines; so when I found Cutting Corners by Pieces from my Heart I knew we had a winner. I used a fabric line from Moda by Brannock and Patek called Hemming House. The quilt went together quickly and by the end of the weekend I had the top finished. My daughter and I both loved the way it turned out.

And then it sat. I am great at making quilt tops-not so great at finishing them. I decided to give this one to a long arm quilter and let her do her magic. I had seen other quilts that she quilted and I liked her work. 

Unfortunately, when I got my quilt back, I was not happy at all. The pattern she quilted it in and the thread color she used were both fine-but the quilt top had been stretched too tightly when it was loaded and the end result was puckers and wrinkles and a quilt that was stretched out of shape. I had no choice but to get out my seam ripper and begin picking out all those stitches. I worked on it for several days and had made so little progress that I put it away, totally discouraged. 

Fast forward too many months later. I have promised my daughter that by this July the quilt will be finished and in her house. I got it back out of hiding and a friend spent most of an afternoon helping me pick out stitches. We chatted about all kinds of things and the time passed quickly. We made a lot of progress and I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I continued to pick stitches for many hours each day over the next ten days. 

I am pleased to say that now the pickin' is over and I am grinnin'! I need to let the top rest a bit before I mess with it again. I have two quilty friends coming for a visit next week and I am going to ask them to help me get it layered again and then I am going to quilt it myself this time. I have at least 8 weeks to get this quilt finished and I just know I can do it! Stay tuned-I will post pics when I am finally finished!