More of the Same

More of the same around here.

We had relatively nice weather over the weekend and spent some time outside.

Other than that not much else happened.

I basted the jean quilt.

I decided not to add batting to this quilt.

It's quite heavy without it.

I did use our king-sized flannel flat sheet for the backing.

It was the perfect size and thickness.

I used every last safety pin in the jar.

I'm not sure how many of these I have.

Let's just say it's well over 300.

Then I resorted to my smaller ones for the border.

As heavy as this quilt is I didn't want to take any chances of it moving on me before it's done.

 I have never tied a quilt before.

I did some research and settled on embroidery floss for the knots.

I also read of a technique to sew them together without

cutting the string until you get to the end of your thread.

I was skeptical at first but it has worked out beautifully.

There's very little thread waste.
-On a side note- The green lines are washable marker and should disappear in the first washing.
I had Connor help me make the marks...some are larger than others. ;-)

Here is one length of thread ready to be cut.

You simply cut halfway between your tying spots.

Then just tie your knot and trim it.

That's it. Couldn't be easier.

While it is easy I forgot about the strain your fingers go through pushing a needle through denim.

This took me a couple of days of sore fingers to get used to.

I hate using thimbles. I can't feel the fabric or the needle.

Some quilters recommend trying out different

thimbles until you find one that works for you.

I found this one in my sewing basket. It fits more like a ring than a hat.

I thought I'd give it a try.

I adjusted it so it fits between my first and second knuckles.

For the longest time I couldn't get a good picture of it on my finger.

This has helped tremendously and saved my fingers!

I almost have 8 finished rows, leaving 7 more to go.

Not bad for less than a week.

I'm really still hoping to finish this soon.

How's that for a vague deadline!

P.S. I'll have some exciting duck news coming shortly.