I was doing a very happy dance, though not very peppy, last night at 1 a.m. in the morning which was the time I finished Baby Quilt #6. I have now fulfilled this year's commitment of twelve baby quilts for the Blanket Ministry which is the second most wonderful time of the year for me. Three of these baby quilts are almost six weeks late and the other three are over six weeks early but nevertheless they are all finally finished and can be crossed off the project list. I started planning to make three of these quilts back in September thinking that I would be able to finish them by the end of the month to meet my quarterly commitment. Once I knew I wasn't going to finish the quilts in time, I decided that I would combine it with this quarter's commitment by making six baby quilts at once which I should have known from past experience that it's not a good idea. It was grueling for me to stay on task, even knowing that once these baby quilts are done, I wiIl be free to work on other projects and possibly starting new ones--I did buy 14.5 yards of fabric last week.
Here are the six baby quilts with some stats (finished measurements):
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| 36" square, 9" Rail Fence Blocks, horizontal layout |
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| 37.5" square, 7.5" Rail Fence Blocks with 7.5" plain squares |
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| 40" square, four 18" squares with 2" strips and 4" square |
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| 36"x45" Rail Fence, 9" Blocks, horizontal layout |
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| 36"x45" Rail Fence, 9" Blocks, horizontal layout |
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| 36"x45" Rail Fence, 9" Blocks, alternating layout |
I joined the Blanket Ministry when it was started at our Church almost five years ago which was also the same time I retired. I can remember when I first started, my machine quilting was not so great and was something I really dreaded doing and sewing the binding by machine was something I never did before. Now that I have made over fifty baby quilts, my machine quilting and comfort level has improved and machine binding is a snap now. Really, most of these quilts are made with my favorite rail fence blocks with six fat quarters, it takes me around four hours, from start to finish, to make a baby quilt, so I wish I wouldn't make them three or six at a time--it would be easier if I would just plan to make one baby quilt a month. But knowing me, it's easier said than done. I'm hoping next year I will try being more on schedule and on task. But for now, I'm really looking forward to having some guilt-free quilt time after I give my Juki some tender-loving maintenance.
Minus 100 Yard Challenge.
For one brief moment, my updated total was -102.75 yards and it was so brief since I had to add last week's purchase of 14.5 yards plus 3 yards of Disney Princess fabric I knew I had to have for my granddaughter with a thankful 3 yard reduction.
Previous YTD Total: -75.25 yards Current YTD Total: -88.25 yards
Here's to some more late night sewing because I have a challenge to meet!
