Squaring up and Making a Path

Can you believe it?  A Podunk Picnic is off the quilting frame and ready to be squared up.  I think that was the fasted I've ever quilted a quilt of this size. 70 x 90 or 75 x 90...well it's somewhere close to those numbers.   Sitting for hours sewing the binding on is a well deserved break.

But before squaring up and attaching the binding I need to clear a path for the delivery of packages. The six inches of snowfall has made huge snowdrift on the front walkway and porch. I'm pretty sure the deliveries won't make it to my front porch if the snow isn't cleared.  This didn't take long because the snow is so powdery, it's like shoveling clouds.  This is one time I'm thankful for super cold weather.  Just a few degrees warmer and this would have been a real chore.  The warmer it is the heavier the snow.

The driveway isn't so bad, no drifts out here.  If you look closely at the middle of the drive you can see scrape marks on the top of the snow.  Those were made by me and the snow plow that is attached to the front of the 4-wheeler.  My plan was to clear the drive for Mr. Podunk.  It would take far to long to tell you about all the problems I encountered.  All that really matters is the 4-wheeler died when I went into the road to turn around. 

How was I going to get it out of the road if it doesn't restart?  I suppose I could find a way to pull it with my car?  No, that's not a good idea.  So many things could go wrong there.  More than likely the car would get stuck in the snow.  So I calmed myself and thought through the situation.  Why did it die?  GAS?  I can't see the gas gauge due to its frosted over on the inside of the gauge.  Then I remembered there's a gas reserve, I just need to flip the switch. I said a little mental prayer  "please lord don't let me be on the reserve tank already".   I find the switch that has 3 settings but I can't read them because I don't have my glasses.  All I can do is flip it and try to start.  The first flip of the switch and she didn't start.  The second flip and NO START!   NO NO NO!  This is not happening to me.  So I flip through the different settings again and finally she starts.  Hallelujah!  Let's get this thing out of the road before she dies again.  It was straight back to the garage to park that crazy machine.  I need some coffee and a little quilt therapy. 

Back in my happy place and feeling oh so much better.  In here I know how to make things work.  Let's get this girl squared up and ready for binding. 

To square up the corners of the quilt I'm using Marti Michelle's Diagonal Set Triangle ruler.  It's not meant for this but it works like a charm for the corners.

This ruler is for cutting set in triangles for an on point quilt.  When I purchased it I thought it would be easier and quicker to cut those triangles from strips instead of squares.  I like cutting them from squares.  It's faster and there's no scrap fabric.  

The long edges of the ruler are perfect for squaring up the corners. Sixteen inches from the corner out to the point.

I was pretty happy with the corners, not too much to trim away.  Just a tiny sliver at the very tip.  This is rare for my quilts.  Often my corners become skewed when I baste them down on the quilt frame.  Over the years I've tried so many different tips and tricks to keep this from happening but the one thing that has helped the most is starch.  Heavy starch.  Making the fabric as stiff as paper is best. I like to buy concentrated starch so I can mix it to my desired stiffness.

One down, 3 more go.

After cutting the corner I switch to a 6.5 x 24 ruler for the long straight sides.

It only took about 10 minutes to trim all the way around the quilt.  Now to separate the batting from the scrap fabrics and sort the fabrics.

My backing was made from two different fabrics. I cut them apart and sort them by color and size.

I ended up with quite a bit of scrap bin sizes.  My scrap bins are anything less than a fat quarter.  The larger piece is about 7-8" wide and over 90" long so I'm going to put it in with the FQ's.

And then the smallest pieces are less than one inch wide.  I save these for making rope rugs.  If you have never seen the rope rugs, you can read more about them here.

The smaller pieces of batting and fabric will go into a scrap bag for making my baby girl Khaleesi a new dog bed.  I'm getting pretty close to having enough stuffing I just need to come up with a plan.  Do I go simple or a little more fancy?  Any suggestions on a pet bed pattern?

Khaleesi will not come in when it's time for daddy to come home.  It was about 10 degrees and snowing.  She sat out there for 45 minutes.