Making it work

"Challenge quilt" is an apt name. It's been taking a long time to put together. One of the biggest challenges I've run into is that the chenille fabric I got in my challenge sack are not consistent in shape or size. Some are square, some are rectangle, and the sizes have ranged anywhere from 2.5" to 3.75". Since the pattern I'm putting together calls for 3" squares, I'm kind of trimming and stretching and just making them work as I go along.


Another challenge is that some of the chenille pieces have bald spots. So many, in fact, that I've had to scrap my plan to use them in the border because I don't have enough usable pieces to do it. It's also kind of a pain because I'm having to rip apart otherwise nicely pre-made strips to remove the bald pieces. Whoever started this project apparently wanted to make sure those strips were going to stay together, because a triple-x stitch was used on every seam. This means taking them apart has been rather labor intensive.

Slowly but surely, I managed to get my nine blocks made. Let me just say: I love my walking foot! The blocks are far from perfect (and the top has the ripples to show it!), but with some borders and quilting, it should turn out okay.


Last night I also made and attached piping around the perimeter (also an adventure!). Hopefully tonight I'll be able to add the outside border.