Meh...

I try not to be a whiner.  Well, most of the time.  But (and you knew that word was coming) I am right fed up with this whole shingles situation.  It hurts.  It's lasted too long.  It's getting in the way of things.

I might be a little bit cranky.

Borders DID happen though.  The green & yellow quilt is completely pieced and I'm really pleased with the result.  The borders made it more modern and classy.  And I finally got the proportions all sorted.

My sweetie helped me sandwich the candy squares top.  We ALMOST got the green & yellow sandwiched but my basting gun stopped working.  Upon inspection, the needle was totally bent at the end.  Wouldn't even pierce the fabric.  My sweetie gave a try to straightening it out but even though it made the gun work again, the needle was too rough and tugging at the fabric.  I decided I could safety pin the rest (ugh) and I set about looking for a replacement needle online.

I'll never understand why basting guns aren't more popular.  I love mine and find it SO much easier than pins, sprays, or hand basting.  It goes quickly, they don't come apart, & I have to go over the whole quilt anyway to trim little threads and check everything, so I do that while hunting for tacks.  It's kinda relaxing.

Fortunately, basting guns are still popular in the UK, so I found the tack removers from a vendor there.  Tonight I found replacement needles from a US source.  They are spendy but the same place has the micro fastener refills for less than I can buy them here.  Getting the needles (they come in a 5 pack) is a good investment and I know that my quilting guru can use a replacement too.

So the weekend was not as successful or enjoyable as I'd hoped, but it wasn't a total washout.  I made some progress.  I can start quilting the candy squares tomorrow night.

I guess I don't really have that much to whine about...

sash