Bargello - final rows sewn

It had to happen, I finally cracked my last two rows of my bargello quilt! What a mission... It took me five hours on Sunday to size up the four blocks required to do the third row. I basically had to unpick a row off each block and sew on another to make it wider, then cut it down to the exact size. I finished the fourth row tonight about 6.30. I decided I wouldn't iron the seams in the dark, but wait till tomorrow night - one of the good things about daylight saving. So thrilled to have finally achieved this part of the quilt. Next up will be to iron the seams and then sew the rows altogether.

Bargello all ready to sew the first two rows together

Close up on my pinned seams - a lot of work to sew over!

First two rows sewed together

Lining of bag

At last Wednesday's group session I finished making the lining for my first bag. Initially I found out that I had sewn the bottom thingee that holds the plastic sheet in place in the wrong direction. So, with unpicker in hand out it came! After re-sewing it in the correct direction, I sewed the two pockets in place, including the most wonderful zipped one!! The larger one was eventually sewn to make three pockets, including one for your handy pen. Sewed the sides up and all ready to rumble... next step, sewing it into the bag itself!! So exciting. I'll take a photo of the lining in the daylight and add it here in a day or two.

Lining all ready to sew into bag, what a mission...

Bargello - first row

With no sewing group for two weeks I didn't touch my bag at all, only to iron the zipped pocket... I cracked on with my bargello blocks though and started to sew them into rows, two down, two to go. That is a rather easy sentence to write, but it felt like a lifetime to do.... The blocks when completed needed to be 13.5" squared, so you can imagine the sounds coming from the sewing room when they measured 14" one side and only 13.2" on the other. Sheesh... this meant cutting down one side, equally, to 13.5, then unpicking one of the rows and adding on another that was just a tad wider. What a lot of fiddling about and getting it right. If they weren't right they wouldn't line up. And all this because either I, (a) didn't sew exactly 1/4" at all times or (b) didn't cut my strips exactly to size. So, if you're about to start a bargello, being accurate is the key! Will I ever do another one, yes, but not this big...

First row completed