Time

Before I know it days have passed ... how does this happen?  I know when you want life to slow down, it just takes off, and when you want it to hurry up, it drags and drags!  I seem to be stuck in a bit of a slump lately ... I'm trying to do too many things, and definitely have too much on my mind and lack the ability to tune things out!  It's a difficulty I've always had and I'm just continuing to work on it!  Sometimes I just need to hibernate, for lack of a better word.  I do the minimum I need to do, and really try and regroup and just focus on the things I need to focus on.  My family seems to need a lot of attention right now as well!  Oh to be a person that just goes through life focusing on the immediate thing that needs to be done, and not worrying about all the rest of the stuff ... I thought I could achieve this in my lifetime, but maybe it's just something you need to be born with ... ha, ha!!!  I'm going to keep reaching for that goal!!!

I put another quilt on my frame earlier in the week ... it was a large quilt and the pattern on it was so stunning, that I just didn't want to do too much in the quilting to detract from the quilt itself.

So I am quilting along and everything is going really well.  I have great tension, I'm loving the look of the Omni gold thread on top and the Glide in the bobbin, things are going along as planned and I'm thinking I'm even going to be done sooner than I thought.  I get to the bottom and I realize ... holy crap ... I am about 4 inches short on the backing!  One of the first things I do before I put a quilt on the frame is lay the quilt across the frame and take the measurements; then I lay the back on the frame and measure the backing to make sure the customer has given me enough.  This quilt was for a customer that I have done several quilts for ... I measured the sides, but I never measured the length ... I just got caught up in getting it done, and skipped that very important step.  So after I said a few bad words, I stopped to think about how to fix it.  I quilted down to approximately 10 inches from the bottom.  Unpinned the quilt and took it off the frame, trimmed the top and the sides, and took the little bit that was trimmed off the top, squared it up straight, took it all to my sewing machine, and sewed that little strip onto the bottom of the back.  It was just enough and was I ever grateful!  I measured the backing when I had it off the frame, and she had only given me about 2 extra inches.  This happens all the time when you measure, and you think you have the measurement right, but you just goof ... I knew without even calling her that she would want me to fix the problem and would feel terrible about it.  It took me about an hour to fix and then repin; I had done a pantograph on the quilt, so I just had to realign it, not too much trouble.  Got it done and it all looked great!

 The repair is the last about 4 inches at the bottom, and I don't even think you can see it here.  The pantograph I used was called Cotton Candy.

 It just put some dimension into the quilt, and with the Omni thread being a little lighter, it's very subtle.

 My customer felt really bad about shorting the fabric on the backing, did not mind the extra charge for my time, and was delighted with the end result.  Boy, I can't ask for more than that in a day!  What turned out to be a major headache, in the end really wasn't that bad and was a pretty easy fix.

I was supposed to have a class yesterday at the Country Loft, but I just could not get my sample finished.  So instead of a class, I called my students from my last Saturday beginning class and invited them to come in and sew for a couple of hours and I would be happy to give them any help they needed ... no charge.  I decided to bring my sewing machine and then I could sit and sew on a project as well.  A couple of other friends joined me, and it was such an enjoyable day!  I finally took in my little Singer machine to sew on ... I was a little nervous because since I tuned it up in the maintenance class back in October, I haven't sewn on it at all.  I just haven't had a chance to take a class ... well it worked beautifully!  Was so much fun to use my little machine.

Have a great week and enjoy each day to its fullest!