Today is the first day of my annual three day, pre-birthday quilting weekend …which includes the annual trip to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival  (MAQF) in Hampton.  It was to coincide with a girls weekend for out of town friends, and a trip to VMFA for the Picasso Exhibit.

Alas, real life stomped on those plans, and one girlfriend is with her fiancé during post-op, and the other is dealing with the possibility of unsettling job issues that all of us fear….

So, today I decided to work on a quilt. I pulled this quilt out of the nether reaches of my UFO pile last month.

It was a quilt that I decided to do about a decade ago. The pattern was, to say the least, challenging. Jack’s Chain is pictured here. I should point out that a decade ago, I was a relative newbie to quilting. My eyes were bigger than my stomach, I explained to Timmy last night. I totally didn’t realize what I was asking of myself.

Now, a decade later, my skills are probably up to the task, but I am also more aware of my frustration level and desire for torture. (VERY low and VERY small, I assure you.) I also know that I am NOT a precise quilter, and that this pattern requires precision.

Therefore, last month I redesigned the quilt to a far more acceptable and FINISHABLE pattern.

This is how far I got today. I took all the pieces I had previously cut and worked up this quilt. I am going to locate a very dark blue or green antique patterned fabric for a sashing between the main pattern and the triangle border.

Tomorrow, Timmy will chauffer me to the quilt show so I can spend my birthday money and dream of many more quilts I probably will never make!

(I even think I may know of a special someone that I will need to FINISH this for!)