Starting at the middle and working upwards

The first thing I learned yesterday - really, this is something we're told time and time again - roll with the face of the quilt on the outside. As you can see, I didn't - when unrolled, the bottom half was very creased; it'll be ok, it was rolled only for a few hours, and the quilting will sort it.

A view of the back, after a bit of tidying up. Still lots of dangling threads!

In a tangle

Late-afternoon sunlight

 Evening - and under the needle again - must get to the top, time is running out -

It does seem to have gone more quickly later in the day, after hours of practice. It helped to be able to stitch a few rows, then deal with the threads, then go back to stitching. I listened to a lot of History of English podcasts, and a new one, Naked Genetics.

This little heap gathered, over the course of the day -

Next step - go back to the middle and work downwards. It's taking rather longer than I thought, isn't that sometimes the way?

Today's dilemma - to keep on with tying the threads, or to start gluing in hopes that will be faster? But is it the tying that takes the time - the threads still have to be pulled through to the back, and those that have been sewn over have to be released. Trouble is, my fingertips are very sore. Should have used tweezers ...

So that's another thing I've learnt: have the right tools, avoid sore fingers. Also - use handcream, it helps with the tying not to have rough fingertips.