mission accomplished

Last Friday evening, around 8 o'clock

I decided I was going to make a quilt in a week.

Just to see if I could.

When Tyler headed out with the kids a few minutes later to buy fish for his $5 fish tank,

I sat down at my machine and randomly sewed 2 squares together.

And repeated 100+ times.

I had hoped that Tyler could arrange my blocks for me on Saturday since I struggle so much with that part,

but he went and took a 3+ hour nap and left me on my own.

(in his defense, I never asked him to do my work for me help)

You saw where I was at mid-afternoon last Saturday.

This is how I left things when I went to bed that night, midnightish

I think I had 3 rows sewn together.

I managed another row before church Sunday morning.

(that would be why my hair was only half fixed. I couldn't help it; I had a goal...)

Throughout the week, every time I could spare a minute, I sewed.

I had hoped to be done by Thursday, so I could join the needle and thREAD ladies,

but it just didn't happen.

I don't just love the quilting on the front, somehow it seems to me to draw the eye to 4 block sections.

Friday, I felt somewhat stressed most of the day

and realized that part of that was my own stupid self-imposed goal.

It had gotten to the point that I wasn't enjoying the process, I just wanted to be finished.

Which is just crazy, because I didn't have any real deadline

other than I wanted to see if I could make a quilt in a week, 

plus I was hand-sewing the binding ~ which I normally love to do!

I do, however, love the quilting on the back! I think this may be my favorite quilt back yet.

I ended up just setting it aside all day, until we watched the Olympics in the evening, 

and wouldn't you know it ~ I finished it up anyways.

I did it! I made a quilt in a week!

specs:

This super lightweight quilt measures 56x77 after washing and drying.

Fabric is Matsuri, a soft cotton lawn from Connecting Threads. 

I ordered charm packs, because they, surprisingly, weren't any more expensive than yardage.

Along with a bit of yardage of my favorite print from the line, I used a sheet I bought a few years ago from Ikea for the back.

It was unimpressive to work with (low thread count & kinda rough) but it softened up nicely in the wash.

Elizabeth Hartman's Orange Peel  quilting post was the inspiration for the quilting, but I did mine totally different than she did hers.

I used another Matsuri print for the binding. I just barely had enough; I have a 1 1/2" x3" scrap left.