And now, for something completely different

I got home yesterday and tried, again, to finish the waistband on the Burda skirt. I'm still not there, and I may have messed with until it's now FUBAR. It gets one more try before it hits the trash chute. I've learned my lesson about keeping unfinishables.

So, I decided something else was in order. And the camo-green corduroy skirt just isn't calling my name. And yes, I know I said - just a little while ago, in fact that I wasn't interested in quilting. Period. Well, I think I may have lied. Just a little bit. 'Cause this is what I started yesterday evening. And finished this evening. I was so surprised how fast it went together, and how unhard it was. Yes, I am aware that I chose the easiest pattern, short of a square, ever to grace a quilt. And I know it's only 16 blocks. BUT, it was also the first time EVER to do any type of piecing or quilting. And I think it turned out quite well. It's supposed to be "Houndstooth" and it is, but I also think it looks a little swastika-ky - and I'm not thrilled with that. Not perfect, but IT WAS MY FIRST TIME. If you're a follower, you'll recognize the two fabrics as a summer skirt (that I love) and top (that I didn't - and remade into this) and the JCC top - just the leftover, that shirt is still a shirt. I bought the binding, batting, and backing at Hancock's today for 1.95/yard. Used thread from stash. Now, the $64 question: what good is it? If I had a girl, she'd love it for her doll. Maybe I'll send it my niece, she's 2 and will like the crazy colors and has a lot of doll time ahead of her. It was all done my Singer 201, as the Pfaff is still in the hospital and I don't think it would have done half as nice a job. Really. At one point I thought the Singer couldn't do it. My first line of quilting was nasty. Loops on top and bottom, no tension. I was afraid it was too much. I am, once again, amazed at the old Singer company, though. I re-threaded the bobbin and tried again. Perfect. And it stitches so straight! Tra-la-la! Now I'm sure I did all kind of wrong things according my MIL - I pieced and quilted by machine. And I used a purple thread to quilt. But this is a far, far cry from heirloom work, so I just made it fun. And it was. Thinking about doing a livingroom throw next. Something real.

Oh, and my FabricMart order arrived yesterday. That was really speedy, I just ordered on Monday afternoon. I really like the paisley, it is destined to be a dress. It's a little micro-suede-ish, with a tad of stretch.It's darker than I thought, so it will age until fall. Really it's more of a burgundy than purple, quite fallish. The other 3 are bor-ing for pants.

So, what do you think? Seriously. I would like some hints on how to improve my accuracy. When it was all done, my blocks didn't line up well, I think my cutting was off and I'm pretty sure I shaved pieces off my template as I went.