Monarchs Finished ... almost

The Migrating Monarchs -- or should I call it Monarch Migration? -- are/is done ... except the "sweeping up", clipping bits of thread, and adding a label. I'll have to decide on the name, of course. The first picture is in the marking stage as I got ready to bind the quilt. It's really tight here in my little apartment, and I can't stand very long, so I used an old trick. I have a folding cardboard cutting board I've had since the days when I sewed a lot of clothes and had to lay out all the pattern pieces before cutting. What a great investment that board was! It lies on top of my ironing board and I've used it at least 30, maybe 35, years. Of course the ironing board can be adjusted. So for this job I adjusted it to a height that worked when I sat in a desk chair. The border is the back folded to the front, same fabric as the pinwheels in the background pieced quilt. It hangs straight -- a major accomplishment for me.

And below is the completed quilt -- the light in my apartment is abysmal, always has been bad but since a huge new building is blocking my sky and light in general, I cannot take a good picture of a sizable quilt. But you see the placement of the butterflies and that they are headed toward the upper left. Which to me is Southwest -- headed for their winte home in Mexico. I'm sure the shadows and the three dimensionality would show up far better in a well lit photograph. I may have to pay a professional to do this for me.



Here's a detail that shows the effect I'm trying to get ... sort of. I know I could take better photos if ... if ... if .... very frustrating.



Big sigh! Maybe an hour of carefully going over the front and back and trimming, fixing a thing or two ... and the label -- I may need to make another butterfly for the label, one of the little guys. What a relief. I felt so often in the early stages it would not work. And the truth is, once in a while as it hangs on the wall, I said, Eh... what's the big deal? If I saw that in a magazine, I wouldn't stop and look very long, some sappy woman with a thing about monarchs... Doubting one's vision and accomplishment is a sad and bad habit. Like many others, I crave some validation. The stages seem to be 1. creative excitement, 2, drudgery and doubt, 3. satisfaction, 4., return of doubt now with various second thoughts [could-a, should-a ...].

But it's done and I have not only the wild black paper pieced quartet to finish, I have three charity (baby size) quilts to quilt and bind, a memory quilt I've decided needs a bit more work ... and then SO many possible projects, the first probably being a Laurel Burch cat quilt for Leslie. ... Of course, there is also Christmas to deal with. I'm terribly remiss although I have the most valid excuse I've ever had; I simply can't walk well enough to do any shopping. Which doesn't affect my check writing skills ... as several portions of the medical world understand very well. Sigh!