On your mark, get set, Bargello...

Or, how I spent my Sunday.

After an extremely busy week I finally made it to JoAnn's on Friday to get my batting for the Bargello quilt. I'd originally figured I could use the stuff I had on hand. But the instructions recommended very thin batting, i.e. flannel. In fact, either striped or checked flannel. No big deal, but it did involve a shopping trip I had no time for.

So here is my progress so far:

Starting with 4 sets of panels, sew them together into a tube - this photo is on the sofa I wanted to coordinate with. Then cut them in the widths as required. I used a pattern out of a book, so they told me how many of what width to cut. I did that last weekend and labeled them in the same order as they are listed in my directions. And yes, I know that 4 does not come before 3. Even in quilting. So when I started piecing I could look at my chart and see that strip #12 (the center and first strip used) is a number 2 from my group (next time I will letter these, rather than number, as the strips are numbered and it would be simpler to work with).

The first assembly step is to lay out the batting (flannel) on the backing. Backing face down, batting face up making sure to be as straight as possible. Pin at regular intervals.

Next, lay your first - center - strip down on the batting face up. This is where the checks or stripes come in handy. You need to be very accurate with this strip. It's like hanging wallpaper - get the first one right or the whole room will slope down hill.

Pin the second strip to the first, right sides together, like any seam. Then you sew these together and onto the batting/backing at the same time. Your result is a quilted back but smoothly pieced front. This is the halfway point. So from the center to the end at the right side. This will later be cut into 3 pieces for 3 place mats and bound. And done, as the quilting is already complete. Cool, eh?

I also got a little work done on the vest. The outside is together and tried on for fitting. Good with that. The lining has the markings done and the back darts and center back seam sewn, with the gap left for turning. And may I say that silk sure is slippery stuff to work with. Like trying to sew water. We'll see how this turns out.

We walked downtown this morning for breakfast at a "European Cafe", then strolled through the art fair in progress this weekend. Apparently the new rage in art is digital painting - enhancing (Photoshopping) a digital photograph and then printing it on canvas. I'm not convinced this is high level art, but the results are pretty cool, non-the-less. It did inspire me to play around with Photoshop a bit. All the pics in the entry are Photoshopped. Usually I just use Microsoft photo or whatever came with the computer. I'm wondering if there is a real difference at this level of use. It sure takes longer with PS, probably 3 times as long. Is it worth it?

And we house hunted Friday afternoon and Saturday. Finally, on Saturday, we saw some real possibilities. All four were acceptable for the most part. One had a garage too small for our cars, one had a nasty hot tub that would be a pain to remove and no exit from the basement, and one had no rough-in for plumbing in the basement. That leaves one on the short list. It's brand new - never lived in. A short sale that could be a PITA, but a pretty good deal on the home.

And Tennessee lost. Going out on a limb here and say we need a new quarterback. Period.