Long Time...

Ok, I admit, I've been missing in action for a while....lots of stuff happening behind the scenes that just isn't fun, so we'll ignore all that for now.

I've been working on DNephew's quilt for some time now. I spent a day at Mom's new apartment getting it basted - Thanks for the help Mom! - and have been attempting to quilt it by machine. For all of you ladies out there that do this frequently, what's the trick? I am having the hardest time getting this done! I've managed to get the main lines quilted - horizontal and vertical - and am now attempting to do all the diagonals. There was a slight hiccup when I realized my chalk pencils just weren't cutting it and I had to make a pitstop at the local quilt shop to see what they had for chalk markers, but other than that, I've been working on it a little bit each day. And that's about all I can do! I sit at the machine shaking because I'm terrified I'm going to really mess this quilt up. I am not a machine lover - give me handwork anyday - so I know that's part of it. And this is my first time attempting machine quilting - I understand it's not easy at first. But the anxiety I'm feeling is unreal! I have to force myself to sit down each day and do at least one line. When I finish with that, I jump up and run to my comfy chair and my handwork project and attempt to control my hyperventilating.....it's crazy.

So, needless to say, DNephew won't be receiving his Big-Boy quilt at his birthday party this Saturday. I thought 3 weeks was enough to get it quilted and bound, but it just isn't happening. Sorry buddy! He'll get it soon, though, I promise!