Well, actually the binding is attached but not yet handsewn down, but I can do that while we are all talking and catching up in N. Colorado when I get there early tomorrow afternoon. The binding I decided eventually to do in the leopard print, and it looks really good.

When I looked again at the pieced top on sunday morning, after posting about one wrongly aligned block, I found (with fresh non-tired eyes I guess ) there were actually three in a row. One kind friend said she didn’t think anyone would notice – shi might have been right – I unpicked them and resewed all threee into the right alignment anyway because I would always notice. And then, darnit, after the quilting and all that, yesterday I noticed another one out on one side – and it will be there for ever.

The stars , 55, freee mchine quilted, are in all the plain tan blocks, since IMHO a 6″ square is too large to leave unquilted despite what any batting manufacturers might say. On all the striped blocks I wrote grandson #2’s name, in free machine quilting, snipped the ends to about half inch and leaving them hanging, on the front, but will snip and darn in on the back as necessary .

Right now the main focus is to get the gear into the case and get to the airport on time with a couple of little errands to run in between.
All do-able provided I don’t linger too long over this!

Well it’s late saturday night and at last I am all clear to go to bed since the piecing is finished. tomorrow I will layer and machine quilt this, and at least attach the binding, if possible, so that if I run out of time I can finish the hand sewing in Colorado later in the week.

I quite like the effect of half the blocks in this design having no piecing at all on them – hugely speeds up the peicing time of course, a useful thing to know in a hurry, and although this is not an art quilt, but a more a contemporary scrap quilt, there are several possibilities here I can go forward with some time.

If I had known more about polyester fabric before I started piecing the job would have been quicker. I was fully aware this lovely tan fabric was part or entirely polyester, confirmed by the feel and that tell-tale odour when ironing. But, with a simple design like this, carefully cut squares and very gently curved or straight lines pieced into some of the blocks, I thought “no worries luv” Boing.

I should have, but didn’t iron the whole piece of tan polyester first. I had already cut maybe 20 x 6″ squares when I noticed some of them had crush lines on them, and ironed those. With some dismay I observed a one-direction shrinkage that was not restored when the heat of the iron faded – and measuring discovered the loss of 1/4 inch from the 6″ side – by my reckoning over a 42″width of fabric this represents approx 6% shrinkage – as I said, selvedge to selvedge only, so I think that is over the weft – but significant when we are talking about piecing meticulously cut squares! So, as I pieced the whole thing every tan piece had to be turned and checked, and about 20 of them needed a piece added along one side. It all took time to rectify. I am not saying ‘never use polyester’ but I am saying – beware!

And finally, I have put up this pic and now see one of the bright blue patches is wrongly aligned – well, I will sleep on the need to unpick and resew – will the blind man on a galloping horse actually notice ? I think not. Doubt a little 8 year old will, either.