Bright Baby Quilt

 

A member of the Cotton Quilter's Guild recently brought in this pretty little colorful baby quilt that she made for a family member. 

I am hoping to get it back to her before leaving for QuiltCon, so after work today, I picked up where I left off last week. 

 

My weekend was consumed with grading papers, so there was practically no time for fun or quilting.  I had hopes of getting a bit more quilting done on this happy quilt, but when I walked in this afternoon, I had many more rows of lines to add.

Mrs. Pat asked for straight line quilting about 1/4 inch away from the seams, so the quilting was fast and easy.  She also wants to add the binding herself, so there was another chore that went extra fast. 
 

Richard and the older grandchildren were fishing in the pond--catching some nice bream--so there were few distractions.  A little rain and some soft playing country music and I was in the zone.

And in no time it seemed, the quilt was finished.  I love it when everything just flows and works.  My machine did give a grunt at one point, but I cleaned and oiled it, and we were back in business. 

 

That grunt, of course, would be for my benefit, since I had decided not to worry about the cleaning/oiling before starting.  I'd already done that when I loaded the quilt and hadn't even gotten on the second bobbin of thread. 

 

Darn it, there are no shortcuts--I'm just happy that I didn't cause some kind of damage.  That would not be an easy conversation with my husband, the sewing machine mechanic who preaches "clean and oil" like it's a sorcerer's incantation. 

There are days when I think it would be easier to practice his witchery than to explain my actions. 

On those days, I experience extreme heart palpitations and vow to clean and oil like Dorothy upon discovering the Tin Man.  I wonder how long this newest vow will last!

Happy Quilting,
Mary