Sometimes Life Conspires...

... against in your favour. Today was a case in point.

First off I went digging in the old toy box that houses a variety of things that I don't need on a regular basis, including a limited number of larger cuts I have that could be used as backings for quilts. A very limited number it may be, but in there I found this -

Okay, I know - boring! But it could work with the purple quilt. And it is really soft because it is a woven. And in the same box was a piece of wadding just(ish) big enough for the quilt as well. I might have to take a 1/4-1/2" off each side to make up for the 'ish' bit of the just big enough, but really, how often do you find yourself in need of backing and wadding and find at all on hand instead of at the other end of an Internet site waiting to be bought?

The backing fabric would remain boring, but it wouldn't need piecing because it was an extra wide fabric. That was another bonus. And how about if I quilted it with a contrasting thread so that the quilting really stood out. Another dig round found me a spool of thread for the bobbin.

You just can't argue with all this serendipitous good luck. Especially when one child makes cakes and the other volunteers to make tuna pasta salad for lunch. There was nothing standing in the way of me and the next stage of making my Siblings Together quilt. So I got on with the basting.

Am I the last quilter in the known universe still not spray basting?

I put my favourite toy on my machine -

I love this doohickey.
I tell you that every time I use it but I just like to reiterate the fact regularly.

And I got on with the job in hand. I challenge anyone who thinks that quilting is a sedentary activity for big bottomed people. I have been wrestling the walrus again and am totally knackered! I deem one afternoon spent FMQing a quilt as the equivalent of a full body work out. Be gone bingo wings!

My good luck ran out before I finished quilting. Exactly the same time as the last of the bobbin thread ran out with only this much of the quilt left to do.

Don't you hate when that happens?!

More digging and I found a thread close enough in colour that it won't stick out like a sore thumb on the back of the quilt. Soon after the quilting was complete. I went for a stipple all over except for the pink squares.

Those wee pink squares got some rather amateurish flowers.

But I thought it added a nice girlie touch.

It was quite hard quilting this today because I was aware every time my stippling didn't go smoothly. Not only does it show up more on the solid fabrics, but there was all that dark pink stitching on the back to make it stick out like no tomorrow!

All in all, not too bad though. I think I can put this down as a successful day.

Susan