Night on the Tiles

I know I am doing things a bit backward but with all of the stabilising quilting done I addded the 9+ meters in binding ...

Almondesque - the top!

From a shoebox


to the finished top:

Making headway on the quilting ...

but it will not be done in time for the retreat. However I am getting very excited about my trip ....

And then there is this ...

I am still struggling with deciding on the lay-out of this quilt which has to be finished by mid-November.

Maybe a scribble with coloured pencils will help ...
High time, don't you think!?

Finally: the proper needle for this job!

I've been looking and looking for good hand quilting needles for my monster job. Yes, the regular ones are really nice and just bendy enough but for this huge job with straight lines only, I was given a mystery Roxanne needle which I loved and then snapped in two - by accident and after many many stitches.

At the Festival, I scoured the stalls and spoke to Someone in the Know who recommended embroidery needles. They are a little stiffer (and also sharper at the other end) but they are longer and come with a bigger eye. So I'm happy ...

Out of my sewing funk ...

because of too much stress at work, I haven't sewn in weeks, months, really. I did some hand quilting but nowhere near enough to meet my deadling :-(

But today I will attempt something like this little block!

"Takings" at Festival of Quilts

There were a few things that I couldn't walk away from:

Lurvely fabric:


A membership to the Quilters' Guild, patterns, bobbins, needles ...


But before those get put to good use, there must be an end to this: