Moving to the Rhythm

I was going to call this post "Of Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth", but thought better of it when my piece for the 15 x 15 "Rhythm" challenge, finally finished, turned out reasonably well.  I was grateful to be able to finish it on my own machine, which is running beautifully and has stopped chewing thread, but for a while earlier today, I despaired of even finishing it at all.

Rural Rhythms - Landscape detail

I'd completed the last bit of free-motion quilting  on the central landscape (lower left in the photo), and attached a facing...when I discovered that a) the quilting on a portion of the lower left corner of the piece was coming out; and b) the 1/4" seam along the bottom, though accurately sewn, didn't line up properly with where I wanted the bottom of the piece to be, and showed some unsightly stay-stitching that was meant to be hidden by the facing.


Sigh.  I had to take the entire facing off to remedy these problems, only to find out that adjusting the seam on the bottom -- to cover the unsightly stitching that was part of the construction but not to be viewed -- meant that the piece would be shorter from top to bottom.  It didn't begin that way, but to have the bottom finished as neatly as possible, a half-inch was sacrificed (i.e., it finishes at 15" W x 14.5" L).

This will likely keep it from being exhibited with others in that theme --  it might even disqualify it from the bi-monthly challenge, but I am going to submit it and see what happens.  I could do a completely different piece, or even attempt a re-make (the deadline is January 31), but as of this writing, I'm in no mood to do either.

No matter.  I may enter it in the Focus on Fibre Arts up-coming biennial juried show, "Prairies" (deadline for entry, February 21).  Que sera, sera, eh?  What will be, will be!

On a cheerier note, I neglected to mention in yesterday's post that in addition to the bookstore, I paid a visit to a recently opened quilt shop in the heart of "old" downtown Red Deer: Sew You're Quilty! I've only been in this part of the city once before, and came at it from a different direction this time, so it was fun to park the car (lots of metred parking) and walk to the store, only to discover it's next door to a camera shop I'd visited when I needed passport photos a few years ago.

The store is a good size and a bit austere, with lots of wall space for future samples and stock.  At the back is a large doorway through which a long-arm machine and frame are clearly visible.  My 'fat quarter radar' was in full operation, so once I found the fusible web I needed, I zeroed in on the shop's selection, and picked out these lovely ones for future landscapes:

The extra good news (for me, anyway!) was that they carry a selection of Superior Threads' "King Tut" line, which they favour in the long-arm, as well as the "Nature Colors" line favoured by artist Hollis Chatelaine.  This means I can call them to check on colour availability of their stock of KT -- driving to Red Deer is easier and less expensive than driving to Edmonton or shipping from the U.S.!

Next up: a couple of new pieces -- and some more minis.  Oh, and I've a pair of socks to finish -- albeit belatedly -- for my daughter, who'll be 33 (!) on Monday.  How'd that happen?!

Because it's still open...I'm linking this to Nina Marie's Off-the-Wall Friday.  Have a great rest of the weekend!