Even though I started this project in October, I was really pushing it to get my stepson’s Japanese quilt done in time to send to California for Christmas. Early in the morning on December 19th I was pressing the seams supposedly one last time before I was going to make the quilt sandwich, and I noticed many of the seam allowances resembled fringe. The fabric that the Japanese rabbit panel was printed on is very loosely woven, and it frayed like nobody’s business! I liberally used some Fray Check on those seams only to discover that it had seeped through to the front of my quilt and had stained some of the solid fabric I’d used. I was devastated considering all the hours and money I’d put into this quilt, and for a few minutes, I wasn’t sure I was going to complete this project! I had planned to quilt it very sparsely  outlining each block in cream 1/4″ from the seams that joined the blocks together, but that no longer felt like an option because the quilt literally would’ve fallen apart at the seams.

A friend helped me spot clean with some diluted Dawn dishwashing soap, so the spots weren’t so visible. I then consulted with the owners of my local quilt store, ThreadBear, (showing up as Ann was turning the sign from Closed to Open!) and later that day with some ladies in my quilt guild, and we decided that my best bet was to quilt a fairly wide decorative stitch on the seams to hold the fabric together.

And it worked! I actually went over each seam twice–once with a wider decorative stitch and then again with a more narrow zig-zag. I finished the binding in the wee hours Monday December 21st, took a few photos, washed and dried it (which thankfully the quilt survived!), and packed it up. My friend took it to UPS for me, and it was delivered the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Whew!!!

Below is a photo of Drew with his quilt followed by some close-ups and then a couple of pics of a Christmas surprise for me!

The two pics above are of note cards that my sister had made up for me using photos I had sent to her of my work in progress. I was so touched by this Christmas present, and I especially love the pic of the rabbit panel inside the cards and the photo on the back that shows the fabrics I selected for this quilt. No wonder I have at least five quilt projects in my head that I want to make for my sister!

I have made a promise that I will not put myself in an eleventh-hour finishing-a-big-Christmas-project-situation again. Hopefully I will follow through on that promise!

This is my second finish for the Finish-Along-4th Quarter.