It's an Easter Miracle!

I haven't sewed for fun in EONS.  Well...it feels like eons anyhoo.  However, after having bought some special fabric last weekend to make my new niece a quilt for her birthday in May, I have to admit I've been having the urge.  My quilty friend A came over on Friday and we had a sewing day.  Some other friends stopped by in the middle with some sewing questions so we weren't as productive as we have been in the past but it was time well lost -- I think I just might have convinced another friend to start sewing!  Um....have I mentioned I'm creating my own personal sewing army?  Armed with stitch rippers and rotary blades, we're here to take over the world!  Ha.

So a couple weeks ago I had found the cutest little panel and saw a tiny crib quilt made with it.  I'm not normally your panel type (yup, I'm that snobby chick who thinks its cheating).  But take a look -- how can you NOT find this to be the cutest?!?

I can't lie - these birds make me happy.  They are super cute.  Maybe it's cuz, if you look closely, they kinda have no bodies.  Just heads on legs.

By the time A left on Friday and I had to head up to my grandparents' for my mom's birthday/graduation celebration I had this lovely pile all ready to go on my kitchen island:

And then I got to stare at it....for two days.....two long days....while I was too busy to touch it....harumph!

Today though, in my post-Easter, pyjama-paradise, stuffing-induced haze I got to work!  Yippee!

Not so fast, mister!  There was quilt math.  Scads and scads of freaking geometry with the ever elusive extra half-inch that needs to be added to all of your measurements to account for stupid seams.  Can you tell I did a whole lot of seam ripping?  So there was a free pattern download on the website of the company that made the fabric line (Yay!) but the instructions were for a quilt measuring 35x46 (glorified tea towel, am I right?).  I decided to add twice as many blocks as it called for and then change the orientation. That's where all the quilt math came in.  Unfortunately, due to a horrid circumstance at work, I had already done about two-and-a-half hours of math and clearly, my brain's math compartment was full.  Hence...

Sewed all my sashing strips together and realized I had miscalculated by about an inch and a half on every. Single.  Piece.

 I have to admit, it was relatively easy to fix but a serious pain in the ass.  Speaking of which, do you ever wish that you cut perfectly straight and square pieces of fabric, sewed an exact scant 1/4 inch seam on the straightest of planes?  Hmm?  Do you?  Today sure made me wish I did.

I wish I was less concerned about having as close to perfectly squared blocks than I am.  Sewing would go much faster.  This was round three of trimming.  

All the hassle was worth it though -- I feel like I was super productive today.  By about 8 p.m. I had finished the quilt top (minus the borders which I can put on tomorrow....or the next day).  Not too shabby.  I think my niece Maddie is going to love it.  I'm contemplating a snugly minky on the back if I can find an appropriate colour.

The lighting sucks here cuz it was dark out as I finished.  I just need to trim the edges before I put the border on.

Now I'm on a bit of a finished quilt top high.  Sweet.