Insanity...

...is adding one more load of straw onto an overloaded camel and hoping his back won't break. That's what I did when I signed on for the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along. I knew I didn't have time to make a quilt, but I really, really wanted to!

So, I did what any sensible person would do, and I pulled together some fabric and I started cutting it. Here it is, cut into strips and lined up:


And I told myself I'd stop with the cutting, but I was lying. I didn't stop there, not at all. I sewed that fabric into squares and then I sewed the squares together, and then I put a border around the whole thing.

And here it is, sewn into a quilt top.

I worked on it two to three hours a week, and I played anesthesia lectures in the sewing room while I sewed, so I wouldn't feel too guilty about playing when I should have been studying. It's a small, throw-sized quilt (49" x 59") and will probably shrink up a little more when I quilt it. So, it will be about 48" x 58", which is great for throwing over your legs on a cool evening but not so big that it's unmanageable when you're sewing it.

I wanted something summery, and patriotic, and a bit old-fashioned looking. I think I succeeded there. However, I am the Swedish Chef at a sewing machine, I really am. Look closely and you'll see that some of the seams don't match up as they should, and some of my squares aren't as square as they ought to be. It's handmade, there's no doubt about it.

I wanted it to turn out nicely because, well, I was thinking of making it the center of my summer giveaway. But I'm not sure it's nice enough for that, and I definitely want to see how it turns out once it's quilted. And I can't touch it again (I really can't) until I finish exams this week.

So, there may or may not be a quilt giveaway in these parts come July. But, giveaway or no, I'll definitely post photos (even if it turns out badly and has to become a dog bed) and show you the finished product. And I'll try very hard to curb my insanity until AFTER I finish exams, next time!