Two weeks ago, I told the newlyweds that their quilt probably won't be finished at Thanksgiving, as I had originally promised. I'd been quilting each evening on the borders, and though I was making steady progress, I had the nagging feeling that the pieced center really needed a bit more quilting. So I broke the news, I wouldn't be bringing it in November, but would send it right after the holidays when the mail situation would be a bit more reliable. They were so gracious...oh, ok, take whatever time you need!
Pressure off, I quilted along until a few nights ago, when I decided I had to finish it as promised. Pour it on, quilt during the day, complete and deliver it at Thanksgiving. For them and for me. And so I've been quilting during the daytime, to the temporary exclusion of most other projects. As long as the fingers hold out, with some occasional help from New-Skin (it works!!). And happily, I'm loving this quilt more every day.
Not only the quilt, but some of the fabrics. That Kaffe Fassett fabric in the center...the ikat stripe with the wonderful little greeny-yellow bouquets? Every time I quilt through a square of it, I pause and admire it, wishing I had purchased more at the time. I only ever had a tiny bit of it and it's in a group that's long gone. But yesterday I remembered something. A website that helps you hunt down a discontinued or mostly sold out fabric. Entering two words in the search feature...Kaffe and Lille, the name of the fabric group...I found it. And now so can you, if you find yourself in a similar situation. Or worse. (Lust vs. need. Small distinction.)
My OCD habit of cutting my fabric from the opposite side of the selvage (information) edge served me well in this case. But if you're a fan of the recently popular selvage quilts and projects and are willing to rip the edges from your stash fabrics, you'll get lots of inspiration from the Selvage Blog where Wendy's gorgeous selvage quilt (even more wonderful in person) was recently featured. Today she shared her first selvage project...truly, she is Martha MacGyver! I'm going to have to hide the scissors next time she's in my sewing room.

