HAD to sew!

I couldn't take it any longer. An empty room that used to be dedicated to sewing? I had to put it back in action. It didn't take as long to pull out the machine and ironing board as it did to find my red, white and blue fabrics.

A young man that we know joined the Army after high school. He's been to Iraq and back more than once; my kids let me know where he is and what he's up to. In December we received a wedding invitation, but were unable to attend. (The wedding was in Michigan.) I kept meaning to make them a quilt, but one thing or another kept it from the top of my list. I've got a year, right? But he's going to be in town, for an Open House next week. Time to get this project underway!

I knew that I had a box of patriotic blocks and such, boy was I shocked when I found it. There really wasn't very much in there. uh oh. What could I do with these? Those Uncle Sam blocks are from...1991. wow. They've been waiting for action for a LONG time. (The little guys were block-of-the-month - I won 6 of them. I've still got 4 left.)

I went through my stash, and found that I really have nothing in the way of "patriotic" fabric. That's kind of disturbing. I couldn't find a single piece of navy, other than a yard in my "solids" bin. Weird. I know what I need to shop for!

I eventually unearthed a Pledge of Allegiance fabric (the beige stripe), that I broke up with a red plaid and the navy. I would have been better off if I'd pulled out a ruler and made straight line cuts, but I was trying to "think outside the box." yeah, right. (Uncle Sam looks better with feet.)

I guess I didn't get a transition shot, but here's what I had about an hour ago.

And here's what I've got now. He also looks better with a beard.

Want to see that beard? Don't look too closely...

This is probably the least square quilt I've made in years. Every time I cut to square it, it seemed to distort more. I finally gave up.

Now I have a decision to make. Is it worth quilting? Should I give it to the newlyweds? Or should I come up with another option? Quilting often makes the quilt, so I should probably quilt it, before I decide. I've got 4 days, and on Tuesday, I've got jury duty, so I've really got 3 days.

Oh, and just so you know, I've been working steadily on my June Step (my Hoffman), but my progress has been tediously slow. I don't think I'll meet June's goal either.

The good news is that my carpenter came by this morning, with stain samples for my new sewing cabinetry. As he described the new sewing table, I got chills. The back will have a built in storage cabinet, accessible from the front, and the side will have 28" pull-out drawers. ooh la la, I can hardly wait. He says he hopes to start staining by early next week. Be still my heart!!!