I made the mistake of timing how long it took me to do the green stitching on one of the twelve applique border panels.

Thirty minutes straight, no stopping to take a drink or check Facebook or visit the restroom or anything.

There are 12 total panels (5 are done), plus I still have to add 10 red berries to all but one of the panels. Oh, and the corners, too. Those still need their berries.

Timing it, and knowing how many hours of hunching over the sewing machine I have left made my back ache just that little bit more. I’m at that antsy stage of the quilt-making, though, where the pieces are finally all coming together, and it is looking like something, and I just want it finished NOW!

There’s a border of red and white half-square triangles that needs to be added in between the body of the quilt and the applique border. Since snapping this, I pinned up one section of the red and white, and wow: it really needed that, it totally pops everything. The red berries will make a difference to the outside border, too. I need to still play with the placement of the border panels. The one with the red background really stands out. So do the green ones. The border will get cut into scallops after the quilting is done. And a red binding will tie it all up with a final framing bow. Or something. That was sort of a mixed metaphor.

I’m totally digging the asymmetrical design of this quilt. It’s a Barb Adams/Alma Allen design from their book “When the Cold Wind Blows.” I bought the book for this quilt, and absolutely zero of the other projects in the book appeal to me. This one called my name, though. It’s only been a few years in the making…

Back to work (and baseball!) tomorrow, though. Probably very little sewing for the next two weeks, actually — busy days ahead!