The Reward for Persistence.....

TA DA! A COMPLETED project!!!!!

It seems like this one has been a part of my world for a long time -- actually I started it last December, having taken a month or two after our daughter announced her engagement to design it (in among the other commitments).

I finished the last stitch in the binding last night just before the news at 10. This is not a great picture, but it gives you the idea. It is queen size with that lovely curved traditional edge used on double wedding ring quilts, and I'm pleased that it came out so well.

I ran it through a cold rinse this morning in the washer to take out the last of the quilting pattern markings (just cold water, no soap!), ran it through the dryer for about 40 minutes and now its hanging over the clothes line in the basement to finish drying. This is my usual procedure for a finished quilt -- if there are going to be any issues with washing I want to be the one to find them -- not the receiver of the quilt!!

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.

There's something about completing a really big project that gives you the right (for about a day) to strut around feeling good about yourself before diving into the next big project.

For some reason, big projects appeal to me. When I read a novel, I like really thick ones best. This has been going on since I was in junior high school and used to spend a lot of my summer's reading -- I'd go to the library and get the fattest books I could find that had interesting titles. If they were well written I hated it when I finished. I read a lot of Mitchner that way. (Right now I'm reading Pillars of the Earth, which is almost 1000 pages, so nothing has changed!)

So, now its on to other projects. I already have another quilt in the wings (and an idea for another one behind that); but I'll probably be working on some smaller projects first.

Today we'll start packing up the display pieces for this weekend's show. I'm still nervous about this one since it is a central cashier set up and supposedly we don't have to be there the whole time. Trouble is, since we had almost $400 worth of jewelry stolen off our table at the last show (with both of us standing right there!), I'm not thrilled to trust anyone else with my stuff.......if we don't feel good about the situation while we are setting up I will be working the whole thing even though we're not required to.

Time to get busy.