WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello!

I've been in a whirlwind of sewing lately.  I have so many WIP projects, I simply can't justify starting any new ones without making more progress - and ultimately finishing - some first.  I've had a bit of an on-going list of what really needs finishing:

1. Jelly roll race quilt - add borders (done!), sandwich & quilt.
2. Harmonic convergence wallhanging - finish replacing borders, sandwich & quilt.
3. HST quilt-along quilt - finish sashing, join rows, add borders, sandwich & quilt.
4. Layer cake quilt - finish building blocks.

In last week's WIP Wednesday, I shared the progress I'd made on my Diamond Jubilee jelly roll race quilt; adding the borders.  Since then, I've moved on to further work on my Harmonic Convergence wallhanging.

First, a little back story: I originally added two borders when I finished the top.  However, I really didn't like the narrow, inner border I put on - it was a weird blue colour that didn't match the turquoise in the rest of the fabrics but was all that was available at the shop at the time.  Then, several years later, I came across a gorgeous turquoise print that matched perfectly!  I went ahead and ripped out the blue border and put in the new turquoise border instead...  Except that when I got to the final top border, it didn't fit.  Argh!

Along the way of fiddling with removing and resewing borders, the fabric stretched, the seams warped and the top border ended up an inch smaller than the width of the wallhanging.  I tried getting that border to fit - tried and tried and tried.  I'm sure I sewed it on and ripped it off three times before giving up, fearing that if I fussed with it any more, I'd just make it worse.

Well, I sat down recently and decided I wasn't going to let this project get the better of me!  After a thorough starching and pressing, I matched up the cornerstone seams and tacked them for good measure, pinned it to within an inch of life and at a snail's pace, stitch by agonisingly slow stitch, I eased that border into place and viola!

That border up there at the top?  That's the culprit.  But isn't that turquoise border lovely?  I'm sure the final effect will well be worth the effort.  Here's a closer look at that tricky border:

Looks harmless enough, doesn't it?  And just for good measure, here's a little detail shot across the wallhanging's piecing.

Now it's ready to be sandwiched, quilted and bound.  Hopefully I'll be able to hang it in my kitchen soon.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced: