Friday, August 6, 2010

In which I go from being charmingly self-deprecating to totally full of myself.



















Can I quilt, or can I quilt? Who's with me? C'mon - up top. Who's got a terrorist fist bump for my awesomeness? Hello? Hellooooo? Hey. Where are you all going?

Honestly, though, this quilt is just sailing along, and I was certain I'd be in tears by this point. The funky seams on HSTs always give my machines a fit, and make me wish I had accepted my mom's offer of her old Singer back when I started sewing. But, save for a few hiccups here and there, I've been able to anticipate the problems and take measures to prevent them. If you were to look closely, and I'd probably tackle you and drag you away by your hair before I'd ever let you do that, you'd see some not-too-precise intersections, but a lot of them are dang-near perfect, and that suits me just fine.

The worst part is the ironing (excuse me - pressing). I elected to press all my seams open, and that is just a major undertaking with a quilt this big. And of course, as I'm gently and carefully trying to open the seams and flatten them gently with my huge-ass iron, I end up messing up all the other seams around them. I finally purchased one of those wee little irons that so many people seem to love, thinking that it might solve my iron trespassing issues, but it was about as useful as glaring at the seams to make them flatten out.

Oh, and here's my submission for Parent of the Year. We had a brief power outage when I had stepped away from my machine, and when it came back on, the needle reverted to its default position, which is not remotely near the opening in my quarter-inch foot. So I blithely went back to sew, and the needle came slamming down on the foot, breaking in half, and causing all kinds of alarms and safety shut-off measures. Since I have done this very thing approximately twelve thousand times (we have a lot of power outages here), I took it in stride and didn't say anything after my little "Oh!" of surprise. So, Harper, who is never farther than three feet from me at all times these days, says, "Isn't this the point where you're supposed to say, 'Shit!'?"

Yes, honey. Yes it is.

17 comments:

Jen said...

That is gorgeous! I may have to give those HST's a try...you deserve to pat yourself on the back for this one!

Nancy said...

OMG it's GORGEOUS!!! Are you following a pattern? or making this "shit" up as you go?

Seriously...it's wonderful!

Linda said...

That quilt is going to be awesome! Congrats.

Sew Here We Are said...

LMAO ohmygosh...Too Funny!! The Quilt is Fantastic!

Sarah Craig said...

Oh, Megan! You always make me laugh!!! And I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of your quilt, I completely missed the part where you went to being totally full of yourself!!! Great work - I think it would make a spectacular wall hanging just like it is!!!

quiltzyx said...

The quilt is stunning and I don't see any disrespectful intersections at all!
And I think you should at least get the Mom of the Week award too! :^)

Amy said...

Your quilt is really sharp! Thanks for the laugh. Out of the mouths of babes....

vivian said...

Yes! You can quilt! Looking good!

Gene Black said...

I did look close (so sue me!) Those little imperfections don't matter a whit if you aren't going to enter it in a quilt show. (and I think some of those are full of "Oh"-- yes, Harper I meant that other word)

My first reaction to the picture was "OH WOW this is gorgeous" AND that is what matters.

Thanks for the laugh. You, my dear are an "f"ing gem!

South Jersey Quilter said...

I love your blog and love the quilt you're making! I'm not creative, but I can follow directions- was the quilt in a book or magazine? How big are the HST's. It looks like it would be nice, mindless sewing to make the HST's. I'm post hyster surgery, and just getting back into sewing, and I'd like to make a similar one. Thanks!
Holly

Anonymous said...

You go girl!! That's one beautiful quilt you got going there. Once I pressed open the seams on a quilt - never again. Unless the seams are at least half an inch, and then I'd think a couple of times before doing it. Keep up the great work.
cindy

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

Very nice. Very nice.

When Carrie was about 2.5 years old, she was walking under a table that had my Aunt, Uncle, Another Aunt and Uncle, my mom, dad and husband. Carrie hit her head on the table and said, SHIT rather loudly. They all looked at me.

I simply stated, Well, she used it appropriately, didn't she?

glen

Anonymous said...

Get some fork pins to help with sewing those HST together. The fork pins keep the pieces from shifting as you sew merrily along.

On the other hand, fork pins are expensive. Get some other quilters to go in with you to buy them. Split a pack. I use the same five pins over and over and over again.

I discovered fork pins AFTER I had made a quilt similar to this one. Your quilt is fabulous. It is so bright and cheerful.

Wendy said...

Freakin' criminey ... AWESOME job!! Forget the tackeling ... I'd go for full body slam for anyone daring to peer close enough to look at the intersections. Great work :)

Anonymous said...

Stunning! Amazingly stunning!

Be as full of yourself as you can for as long as you can because you know your children will find a way to bring you down to earth!

Thanks for the tutorial....though I have to admit any reading that includes math has a tendency to make my head spin. I get the idea though. Might have to get myself one of those rulers. (Just spent almost $100 on rulers yesterday, so it might have to wait...)

Oh! (No, I really mean oh!)....

Pressing the seams open is nice, but not if you are going to quilt by stitching in the ditch...just a general FYI.

It's a rough translation, but my security word is a hoot! Derear (derriere)!

KateKwiltz said...

That's gonna be a kickass quilt! Don't stop!

Anonymous said...

Deborah says:

I totally forgot to put my intro into my last entry....above.

Apologies!