Road Blocks and Detours on the Road to the Mountain Quilt

It started out as a Mile a Minute Quilt.  That was the name used to describe the method of piecing.  I think it is just another name for good old-fashioned crazy quilts.  At one point I thought I could incorporate it into my Mountain Climbing quilt, but I had made too many patches and it was too busy for the Mountain Quilt and detracted from it, I thought.  So did my daughter and my friend who were shown previews for their opinions.  It became apparent that I had two quilts and the Mile a Minute patches became the Road to the Mountain quilt.  We'll call that Detour #1.

I was planning to use an existing twin/full blanket as a batting, but the quilt top I had pieced was a little too big for it and I wanted a bigger, queen size quilt.  One that draped a bit over my queen size bed.  We'll call that Detour #2.  Since quilt batting at the fabric store cost more than the comforters at the dollar store, I bought a dollar store comforter.  The dimensions given on the label for a king size comforter seemed more like the dimensions given for queen size quilts on-line, so, I bought the king size comforter.

Now, the quilt top I had pieced was a little too small!  Oops!  I pieced another row of 12 patches and attached it.   Detour #3! 

By now, I was running short of the 2 or 3 yard (can't quite remember how big it was) piece of purple fabric I had in my stash.  I pieced together some of the short pieces I had for the side of the row I had newly pieced.  Detour #4!

Then, I went to attach the borders at the top and the bottom.  The sewing of the first border worked out OK, but the bobbin thread was causing some problems, with loose, loopy stitches.  I adjusted the tension, but it didn't make much of a difference.  I turned the quilt top over and re-sewed the seam for added strength.  Detour #5.

But when I went to sew the second border, my sewing machine stopped working!  The needle wouldn't go up and down anymore; the wheel wouldn't turn when I tried to move it by hand.  I removed the bobbin and cleaned the bobbin casing.  Then I opened up the part where the bulb and needle are and tried to oil it.  My owner's manual says to "oil as described" but nowhere does it actually say how and where to oil!  I looked up the instructions on the website and there's nothing there, either.  I watched a couple of videos on-line about cleaning and oiling a sewing machine.  One video said to use canned air to blow out accumulated lint and dust.  The other video said don't use canned air!  Very helpful.  Once before, my machine made some clattering noises and I oiled what I could and it worked beautifully after that.  Now, even after oiling, I couldn't get the needle to move.  Road block #1!

Of course, I could sew the second border on by hand, but, I did have another option.  I called daughter and asked her if I could use her sewing machine, instead.  She had bought her sewing machine in order to sew her costumes for anime cos-play but she didn't take it up to Berkeley with her.  She said I could definitely use her machine, so that's what I did to sew on the second border!  Detour #6!

But, the quilt top was still a little not wide enough to cover the comforter being used as the quilt batting:

Not long enough to cover the white with black stars comforter

The other side, showing the new row of patches I added and the comforter peeking below

 It wouldn't be a problem if I had enough of the purple fabric left over, but this is all that is left:

Leftover Purple Fabric

Road block #2!  Not enough purple fabric left!

I do have a couple of options (or detours) though:  I could cut off the excess comforter ; I could turn it under and sew it in place to make it narrower, or go to the fabric store to buy another yard or two of a matching or coordinating purple fabric. 

Or, I could use this strip of lilac fabric leftover from making a nightdress; however, it is a bit too narrow at one end and not quite long enough to be used without being patched.

Lilac fabric

However, there is one additional option.  Three years ago, when I bought a comforter for daughter, to use on her mattress as a substitute for a mattress pad, I bought a bed-in-a-bag set at a discount store.  For $23, I was able to buy a queen size comforter (that she's using as a mattress pad), a sheet set, 2 pillowcases, 4 pillow shams (which I use on my bed), and 2 bed skirts!  No idea why there were two bed skirts, except the bag had been torn and I presume someone just stuffed the second bed skirt in there!  At the time of purchase, I had asked the sales clerk to open the bag to make sure the pillowcases were in there and we discovered the extra bed skirt, but she told me to take it as well and I did.  One bed skirt was queen size and is currently being used on my bed.  The other one was full size and it has been sitting in my linen cupboard, resisting my efforts to declutter because I felt I could use that fabric for something!  There is enough fabric to make the border and it would match the bed skirt I already have.  Detour #7! 
 

Spare Bed Skirt

I haven't quite decided if this is the route I'll take, but it makes the most sense, doesn't it?  It's fabric I have on hand, it matches the bed skirt, there's more than enough of it, and it's already hemmed on one side! 


What is your opinion?