Gail McGlamery

Week 12: 11/16/09 – This week disrupted my rhythm with my journal quilts.  I found myself working feverishly to make as many items as possible for a holiday craft bazaar on the upcoming Saturday.  Two weeks prior, I attended a fall festival at a local art gallery inside the tent with the fabulous members of the Austin Fiber Artists.  At that show, I sold only coasters and to my surprise not one of my whimsy balls for babies.  So, if coasters is what is moving and my stock is low, coasters it is.

I can’t pinpoint the moment I decided to try and make a circular coaster, only that it was early this week.  I went through about a day of trial and error with measurements, steps, and lengths of bias strips to get it right.  I’m quite proud of myself for figuring this one out, mainly so that I can pre-sew the bias border and have it fit like a glove.  Unfortunately, these are a bit more involved than the square shapes I make.  There is a bit more material waste, some back and forth from the sewing machine to the iron to the cutting mat, and to ensure a finished look I hand stitch the binding on the back.  I thoroughly enjoy making them, but I think I priced them too high because none of them sold at the bazaar.  Ah, well, I’ve got plenty for gifts.

Given how front and center they were for me this week, I thought one of my initial samples deserved a spot front and center on this week’s journal quilt.