Progress

I had a fine post organized for yesterday.

But after spending three hours on the phone with tech support from Shaw, I just didn't feel like being on the computer one. second. longer.

So today, I'll show off the completed strip sets for Husband's Christmas quilt. I've been living in black, green and gold all week:

Funny story: I walked into Fabricland looking for polyester thread and when I asked the salesperson what weight all purpose thread is, she said, "This one is 500 meters, this is 250 meters, and this one is 100 meters." Really!! Was my illiteracy showing that day??

Of course, my hookup at Johnson's informed me that all-purpose thread is generally 50 weight. They are so smart.

I also had a jaunt into the local Goodwill for corduroy because the Punk needs new trousers for school. I scored this sky blue and butter yellow (2m each), and as a bonus - 4.5m of this red flowered cotton for less than five bucks.

I made a date to shop with my best friend one more time before the craziness of the holidays settles is. And then I thought, "This will be the last opportunity to bring her kids some presents!" I've already blogged about her daughter's quilt, so you know that I love how it turned out.

But the boy's quilt was a pile of white, red, and grey fabric and a concept sketch in my design book.

Until this afternoon.

My goal is to finish the applique and baste the quilt sandwich on Sunday, then quilt and bind on Monday. Green thrifted sheet for a backing; black binding.

It looks good with the photobomber. It will look even better after crosshairs are added. (I approved the design with the boy's mommy before attempting such a controversial piece for a pre-teen.) Not bad for the four hours of work I squeezed in today.

Today's Random Secret Confession: I hate pre-frozen brussels sprouts (too bitter!), but cooked from fresh or even raw, they're one of my favorite veggies.

Block A

After last week's rebellion it felt good to jump into regimented quilting again. I spent a bit of time slicing up last week's strip sets and made eight of these "Block A's."

Husband is thrilled with the colours. This is the first time I've seen him so excited over a homemade Christmas gift....score one point for the Wife. We've only been married for three years - I was bound to get it right sooner or later. I have 24 more Block A to put together.

Block B is waiting to be created out of these strip sets. Did you know that in Ireland, they call this pattern a Double American Chain? I guess nobody really knows where it came from.

I'm heading back to the trenches to finish the cutting. I need a total of 32 A's and 31 B's for a quilt about 70x90. It'll be the perfect size to wrap around my Very Tall Husband while he's on the road for work.