Before Prozac, there was quilting...

...and this'll end up being a long recitation, I'm sure--

Last week, I posted that I finished my afghan sized Halloween Quilt. And I titled that post "...the wicked quilt is done"! To be honest I was never more happy to call it quits!! You see, I truthfully haven't sewn anything since our kids were young and still at home. And our youngest has been gone from home since 1994. If my math is correct that is just shy of the 20 year mark since I've really attempted any large project with the sewing machine. One thing, I did remember how to thread the machine. LOL -- that part was just like learning how to ride a bike; once you master it you never forget.

Okay, so it was considered by me a colossal challenge. I knew when I bought the first cute panel of a cute witch, I was in for the long haul. It just took me about 10 years to finally build up the courage and get it back out of storage and begin. For years I had it in my mind to just make a simple patchwork quilt that surrounds the large panel in the middle. Of course, Halloween colors of yellows, oranges, black, purples, and greens. I had enough material saved up to make a 74" x 42" quilt. I started cutting the pieces. I really wasn't going to make each a perfect square. I would just fit all the cut pieces until the dimension reached a close 70-75 inches long and 40-45 inches wide. Something to just use as a throw on a chilly night....which there aren't very many of those in South Texas in October. Once the pieces were cut, I sewed them together making rows. Fitted them together and sewed them onto the original panel. So far so good. Then, I considered what to do for a back of the quilt. I had in mind to have something a bit flower-y. And made use of the witch's hat and one of the jack-o-lanterns that were extras on the panel I bought long ago. I cut those out...pinned them onto the back side and used the machine's zig zag stitch. After that came the batting. I've never EVER made a quilt before, so choosing the right batting was something new to me. I went to Hobby Lobby, Joann Crafts, and Michael's and read online the differences in quilt batting. And decided on the light fiber batting in a 'heavy' texture. In other words a product that would have a soft quilting effect and still be light weight when all put together. Cutting that was no challenge. I laid it on the floor, put the top quilt section on top of the batting and cut. Then, pinned both the back and the front of the quilt to the batting. And began sewing. Once online, I learned the technique of "Stitch in the Ditch" stitching. The tutorial also advised me to use transparent thread for the top piece and close-to-matching thread for the bottom piece [what was on the bobbin spool]. That was when I ran into some problems....the bobbin tension on the machine...I was never able to get it set perfectly for the use of the transparent thread I used on the top!! My transparent thread kept breaking; VERY OFTEN!! Frustration was setting in. And I don't know how many times I sat there, rethreading the needle, and/or replacing the BROKEN needle. A few times I mindlessly, silently threatened to just throw it all out. As Butch Cassidy said in the popular western movie about the posse that was after him and the Sundance Kid...it was "beginning to get on my nerves". Whatever did I get myself into? Why did I even think I could do this without any knowledge whatsoever before I began? You're a fool to think you could accomplish this Anni! So many negative remarks ran through my head.

After about a month of constant battle and frustrations, the quilting was done. If I never hear the term "Stitch in the Ditch" again, it'll be all too soon. After this, I even have MORE admiration of those who quilt and call it a hobby or do it for a living!! More power to them.

Then, the binding. Once again I went out online to do research and watch videos. That all seemed simple enough. Math came into the picture. Measure the quilt; multiply it by 2 and you have the sum of the inches needed for the length of the quilt's binding!! Got it!! If you recall, I chose a contrasting orange for binding [photo shown in this post with Tahoe's help]. I decided that the narrow biding would look best......WRONG!!! I cut my binding 2 inches in width. Had all six strips of 45" in length sewn together to make one long strip. Pinned it on...sewed it and mitered the corners. After two corners done, I had some more bobbin tension problems. I forgot to readjust the tension on the machine, and the matching orange thread bunched up at one point while sewing it on that there was no turning back, I had to rip that completely off and begin anew!! I wasn't about to go and buy more orange, I had a lot of black material in my storage bin of scraps, so decided to use the black for binding instead. And the first go-'round I cut the six strips 2" wide. This time, with the black, I measured a wider strip...this time it was 2 1/2 inches wide. I ADJUSTED THE TENSION, and off I went. Sewing miraculously around the entire quilt.

I wasn't about to use that nasty transparent thread again, so I chose to finish the quilt binding off, by stitching the backside of the binding to the back of the quilt by hand!! The stitch is a blind stitch and nearly invisible to the eye. It worked out very smoothly, and I had the hand sewing done in a short two days!!

Guaranteed it's NOT a perfect piece of work. But it will suffice. Project completed in one month's time. Lots of hours put into it. The labor, the time, the expense of the material and the batting...it wouldn't make much of a profit if I sold it for $100. roflmao!!

...but it's done. And to be totally honest, I'll never make a quilt again. I'll leave it to the experts and those that enjoy doing this. I'll stick to birding in October and decorating with already made Halloween decorations.

So, here is the finished quilt in photos [they will enlarge if you wish, just click on 'em for a slideshow]:

...and if you're still here with me, and read the post in its entirety, step up to the bar....DRINKS ARE ON ME!! I'll make the first toast: "May your sorrows be patched and your joys quilted. Just not by me!"