The First Stitch

Starting new projects is always so exciting, but I have been completely intimidated by this Four Corners Quilt and thus, I have been dragging my feet. However, it's never going to get finished if I don't take the first step. I posted a bit about it here:

New Quilt Project

 The 28 page instruction book had me spooked, but after consulting it more closely, I was happy to see that the first half is dedicated to the table runner instructions, and I also have a secret support system in one of my readers. She is also making the quilt and after a good visit via the phone, I am feeling much more confident. She was sweet to share her tips and helpful hints so I am digging in and making the first cut. P shared that this is the most challenging quilt she has ever worked on, but she loves a good challenge and if she's up for the challenge, then I'm jumping in too.

P mentioned that staying organized with this project is key so I'm devising a system and labeling everything as per her advice. No fancy labeling system here. Masking tape always does the trick for me and I ordered extra fabric in order to mitigate the oopsies I make along the way.

It took me 4 days to get it all cut out and when I had finished, I was pleasantly surprised that they had been incredibly generous with their fabric cuts and I had a lot left over. I hope I haven't missed something, but there's plenty left and never even touched the extra fabric that's propped up in the back:

The pieces in this quilt are small compared to the quilts I usually make. The entire quilt is comprised of 1 1/2" strips and the largest piece is a 3 1/4" square, but those are cut into 1/4 square triangles.

So, here goes nothing! I took a deep breath and stitched the first seam.

Ripping happened almost right out of the chute and I imagine I had better keep that seam ripper close at hand. I often listen to audio books when I sew, but that's just not possible while working on this project. I need to pay close attention to each step in order to get these pieces built correctly.

There are good pictures of each finished step, but there are sometimes multiple steps for each picture and you have to cock your head a bit to insure that you are sewing the pieces together correctly in order to make it turn out the way it needs to. I sewed most of  one afternoon and completed the first 4 steps

And then made it through step 11 over the weekend:

Disregard the fabrics peeking out from the strip at the top. That's another quilt I'm working on. Doesn't everyone work on more than one project at a time?

Slow and steady, but I am hoping to have this top completed by the end of June. We've got a week of cow works next week and I'll have to shut down sewing progress that week, so I've got 3 weeks to focus and execute.

and if the phone rings, P, it'll probably be me. Good thing for you that we don't live closer or you might find me camped out on your porch!