Wild Ride - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Got my October block done this month with 2 HOURS to spare! I opted for going to the Monday class to "flash" it, which actually gave me an EXTRA 2 days to get the block together. True heaven for a procrastinator, OR as I like to say, "Someone who works best under pressure!"

So I cut out all the pieces on Sunday afternoon, sewed most of the components of the inner block together on Sunday night before hitting the hay. Then Monday, I got the ironing board and iron prepped, sat down at 9:15 a.m. to tackle the rest of the block. As I proceeded, quite a lot that could go WRONG did go WRONG in putting on those corner pieces. My machine started to act up, with the top thread breaking and the bobbin thread in a mangled mess. So some cleaning of the machine was in order, and after pulling out gobs of lint from under the needle plate and bobbin area and applying some oil, I proceeded. Somehow the needle position knob was altered - unbeknownst to me - BOOM! The needle broke sending a piece of it flying into my hair. I was wearing magnifiers at the time, so I was thankful that my eyes were a bit protected.

NOTE TO SELF: Next month get Nuclear-Grade safety glasses from trunk of car to wear while sewing block!!! (Just kidding about the "Nuclear-Grade" - no such thing - just safety glasses that I got while working in the Nuclear industry.)

Back on track, the big corner pieces got on and off and back on again, because the block was turning out a bit too big. BIG is good, but not TOO BIG. Just as I hit the ironing board to give the last corner a pressing, I noticed that there was a seam in one of the corner pieces showing on the right side. Now, HOW did that happen??? Another little seam ripping session - always nerve-wracking because the seam ripper can and (if possessed at that moment - certainly nothing to do with OPERATOR ERROR) will cut right through the fabric causing an even bigger problem. But the seam ripper was my friend that day and with continued perserverence the block got done.



For a while there, I felt like I was in a Charlie Chaplin/Max Sennet movie - it was getting a little sLaPsTiCkY. So at 11 a.m. the block was in my clear project box ready to go to the Jam Patch to be "flashed" at 1 p.m. Whee-EEW! What a ride. Only three more blocks left, so here's hoping that I'll be cruising smoothly to the end, and not having to install a 5-point seat belt (like they use in NASCAR) to my sewing room chair.