140 inches of curved madness lie between me and slumber.  Honestly though, I think slumber’s going to win out.  The second to last seam is under the needle, but I’m to the point of tiredness where I start making stupid mistakes.  Better to get some shut eye and start fresh tomorrow.  Update:  I managed to finish the seam under the needle and sketched out a Paddington Bear quilt to make for a shower gift.  Then I hit the hay.

A coworker commissioned me to make a twin-size mermaid quilt for her daughter.  Megan actually sketched out an idea of what she wanted, which made things a lot easier.  I selected Sea Beauties from Michael Miller fabrics as the mermaid fabric.  That fabric came from Five Eighth Seams over in Charleston.  Who’d have thought finding aqua polka dots on a white background would prove to be that difficult at the time I was shopping?  Fortunately, one of my LQS had a wee bit of yardage in stock.

The trick to this quilt is that all of the seams are curved using the Wave Edge Ruler.  I took a field trip to McDonough to buy said ruler (and other stuff) at A Scarlet Thread.  (See, I try to support my LQS!)  I watched the YouTube video several times before I finally felt comfortable enough to try it.   It does take about a half-dozen attempts before you finally get the hang of it.  I’d sewn plenty of curved seams in the past, but not 12 of them 70″ wide that this quilt design calls for.  I set the project out of sight for several weeks until I finally go up my nerve to start piecing the sections together.

A few hints for working with the ruler and sewing the curved seams:

1) You need a pair of tight gripping long handled tweezers, preferably with rubber tips (or tape the points to help grip the fabric)
2) Do not clip the curves until AFTER you sew the seams – which is different from the video demonstration.  Fabric stretches too much when sewing the seam.
3) Don’t even try to use a rotary cutter on the smaller wave side of the ruler.  It’s a royal pain in the behind – even with an 18 mm cutter. You’re better off tracing with a pencil and cutting with fabric shears.
4) Pin the first 6″ or so when starting the seam.  It makes things go much more smoothly.
5) Cut your blocks/sections about 1-2″ bigger than your finished size to allow for the curved seams.

I will post pics of the completed top.

As much as I love to get *real* mail, I’ve decided there will be no more swaps for me – largely due to the no-shows assigned to be my swap partners.  It’s extremely aggravating when I take the time to read my swap partners’ profiles, scour my stash to find the “just right” fabrics and  either get nothing at all or receive what most definitely qualifies as NOT quilt shop quality fabric in return.  (Notice I didn’t say – “must come from quilt shop” – Joann’s, Hancock’s & Hobby Lobby have some nice fabrics, too.)

I realize taste in fabric is highly subjective – but fellow swappers – ask yourself would the person on the other end really want that fabric unless you were doing an ugly fabric swap?  Can you see through it (unless white or very light colored)?

Life happens.  There are times you cannot meet your swap obligations.  Instead of hiding and not answering email, let your fellow swappers (or the swap organizer) know that you’ve hit a rough patch.  Be honest.  Tell them if you’ll be late or just plain can’t do it at all.  People will generally understand as long as you communicate with them.  And swappers, if a fellow swapper can’t meet the obligations, be gracious to her (or him) and the host.  Decline the kind offer of the swap organizer to be an “angel” and step in to fulfill the requirements of the swapper who couldn’t do it.

Getting down off my soapbox…

Over the past several years, the choruses from Lassiter and Walton high schools were invited to perform with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.  The ASO’s board of directors, in its infinite wisdom, decided that chorus members from these two nationally ranked high schools weren’t diverse enough to perform with the ASO any longer.  Cobb school district officials have confirmed it and today’s editorial pages of the Marietta Daily Journal are all over the issue.

The ASO BOD needs to check its understanding of what diversity really means.  It doesn’t mean substituting another high school (Grady) that is as predominantly black as Lassiter and Walton are white.  You want to see what real diversity looks like?  Then come visit my elementary school – Hayes Elementary in Kennesaw.  This is what true diversity looks like across all strata – socioeconomic, ethnic, race, religion, etc.  It is the real world, albeit in a pint sized version – the good, the bad and the ugly.

When I get that telemarketing call from the ASO sales department about purchasing tickets for the upcoming symphony season, I’ll think I’ll pass this year.  Instead, I’ll pick up the tab for the instrument rental for a talented, deserving youngster I know whose parents can’t afford the fees.