Monday, August 26, 2013

Irish Chain Top - Complete!

I made a pact with myself this past weekend.

I would sew as much as I wanted, and in exchange, I would feel no guilt over not vacuuming my carpets and only doing 1 load of laundry. A win-win for me! ;)

I really wanted to finish piecing my king-size Irish Chain top....


...and I did!


I sewed during a great afternoon Florida thunderstorm with my favorite fluffy companions.


I actually laid all the blocks out first on my bed. I figured a king-size bed was a convenient place to lay out blocks for a king-size quilt. I had a great layout that I loved, so I collected and numbered the rows, and set them aside to take a Project Runway break.

And then as I was sitting there I had an epiphany. Typical quilt layouts have the shorter side as the width, and the length is the longer side. But king-size beds are wider than they are long. So my original layout of 6x7 would not work. I know, I know, most of you are thinking "oh, but you could just turn it sideways and be golden."


But folks, I had one directional print. ONE. Darn you adorable Sarah Jane anchors! So I laid the quilt out again, and had juuuuust enough space in my living room.


The overwhelming majority of the square corners line up beautifully, and I only got one block turned around when sewing. I haven't decided if I wanted to unpick that bit and flip the block or if I'll leave it as a reminder that I created this quilt in all its imperfections.


I needed some help taking pictures of this monstrosity. Each block finishes at 17", so it's no small feat to get it laid out flat and looking pretty.


I hope to have this quilt on my bed by October, so I have a whole month to get it quilted and bound! Fingers crossed!

**Linked with Fabric Tuesday and WIP Wednesday!

7 comments:

  1. Woot! That's a huge accomplishment. Did you decide how to quilt it?

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  2. Looks fabulous. Can't wait to see it finished.

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  3. The Shakers always include a mistake in their quilts to remind them that none of us is perfect. Lovely work, you should feel proud,

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  4. I love guilt free quilty weekends; You made good use of yours. (My sympathy on the one directional print. I try to avoid them, but usually have some too.)

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  5. Your pact was a great one! I'm glad that you were able to keep your pact. And your Irish chain looks great! I love Irish chains.

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  6. This is so pretty! I really need to make one someday :)

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