Loaded, Piped and Serged!

There's a LOT going on in The Strawberry Patch these days... but it's little things, and each one requires sufficient time and attention; to the point that I feel like nothing is being accomplished at all. Ever have days like that? I feel a little bit like a cricket, hopping from one thing, then to the next. My brain must be about the size of a cricket's brain, too... herein lies part of the problem. I have loaded this quilt, pictured, onto Sundance. Simple enough, right? Not really. While attending long arm instructional classes, the week before last, we were given step-by-step loading instructions to facilitate the process for eventual quilt turning. It seemed simple enough, when we were there! It's not the way I've been doing it for months now, and something new always takes me longer. Eventually this new method will become second nature, but for now it's loaded and I'm proud of the way it all lines up. I hope to begin quilting it soon, that would seem like progress to me. But, there's the Zoo Train wallhanging for my grandson. Remember that? It's languished in pieces long enough. After consulting with my daughter a while back (months ago) we decided to sash the entire piece with solid navy blue and pipe around each block (there are 16!) with red to set them off, visually. I can make piping, and insert it straight and square, I just don't do it often enough for it to come easily to me. Detect a pattern here? Uh-huh. I think I know now what had become the roadblock to progress with this project, my hesitation to dive headfirst into the piping. Well, each block has it's piping made now and I'm closing in having them all piped. The rest will be easy, I feel all comfy-cozy with this process, at long last. Then there's the puddle pads... huh? Yep, puddle pads. For Mason's changing table. My daughter paid nearly $10 a piece for these and the edges aren't even finished! They are flannel back and flannel front with a rubber liner, the first time they are washed they fray and ravel like mad. She asked if I would serge around the edges. "Sure" I said, out loud. "Groan" I whispered silently, to myself. I don't use my serger often enough to even remember how to thread the darned thing, and I've had it for close to twenty years! Thank goodness I found it still threaded up from the last time I used it, that way, the simple act of finishing the edge of this only took half the afternoon. It's done, all serged! I guess it's safe to say that this cricket has a very low rate of retention; but for now, it's time to "hop to".

Life is Good!
~chirp~