The Joy of Finishing!
You know that feeling .... the satisfaction of finishing a project that has been in the works for awhile. You hang the finished piece on your design wall or spread it on the floor or on an empty bed to admire it. A smile slowly moves across your face as you stretch your aching muscles after spending too many hours at the sewing machine or hunched over the quilt top appliquing. The feeling of accomplishment!
Well, here it is. I finished appliquing the borders of my Sylvia's Bridal sampler and I am so happy with the results. This makes me want to start another project right away even though my sewing hand is protesting loudly right now!
Now all that's left is the quilting and binding and then I can proudly display another completed quilt.
Just a few random thoughts on applique. A little secret I use to keep the edges of the quilt top or block you are working on from fraying while you work is to treat the edges with Fray Check™ or a similar product. This way, you block or quilt top won't lose any of it's seam allowance because of fraying edges.
And what about all those pesky threads that collect all over you and every other surface in your sewing room, especially when you are appliquing? I often have the quilt top or block resting on my lap while I applique so all the random threads from the raw edges on the wrong side of the piece end up all over me. I've been know to run errands and find threads all over me while standing in a checkout line. I'm sure you all have some secrets you use, but here is mine. I keep one of those pet hair removers, the kind with the sticky surface, in my sewing room and I brush it over my clothes to remove the threads instead of having to pick them off one by one.
If you are in a pinch and do not have a pet hair remover, you can always use a piece of packing tape wrapped around your hand with the sticky side out. It works really well too!
Well, that's about all I have for now. Feel free to share your thoughts on this.
Happy Quilting!
