Something New: Upping the Impossible Ante

Plan specifically so you can implement flexibly. –Dallin H. Oaks

I've been working as fast as I can {which is why you haven't heard from me in 10 days}, but we all knew this project was doomed, right?

Talk about a mission impossible. I gave myself 9 days to cut, piece and quilt it and I gave the framers a week. Today is day 15. The quilting is not even done yet.

Two consecutive 40-hour work weeks {general ledgers and gross income, I hate working that much} and the fact that every framer I talked to takes two weeks for a custom job, have conspired against me. It would seem that the best option would be to call it a day and move on to something else.

Hardly. Every good spy quilter always has a back-up plan. And a back-up plan for the back-up plan. And if they don't have back-ups, then they come up with new plans on the fly.

One of the framers that I talked to said they had ready-made shadow box frames that were 20". Using a ready-made frame would give me more time for quilting even though a ready-made is a little bit plain. Full of hope that I could salvage the plan, I headed to the shop after work and dinner and regular stuff last Friday and discovered that they close at 8:00 pm. Every day. What kind of craft store closes at 8:00 pm!?! Undaunted, I tried again on Saturday and they did indeed have 20" shadow box frames. They just aren't 20" square.

Not willing to give up, I looked at every single frame in the shop, tape measure in hand, trying to find one with a 20" square opening. I finally found one. Well, OK. The opening is only 19½". And the frame was occupied.

Still not willing to give up, I bought the artwork, intending to strip it for parts. What I'm going to do with the print, I have no idea. I don't think I'll be able to just throw it away, though. I may try to cut that outside border down and put it in another frame. {Yes, I see the irony.}

I also bought some spray paint. My first thought was to paint the frame flat white and then strategically sand it down to give it a shabby, worn look. I'm undecided about that now, and wonder if it will be too white, even with bits of the dark showing through.

This project hasn't gone to plan. But I kind of like the changes. I think that framing it without glass makes it a little more . . . I don't know . . . real. The first DWR is kind of look-but-don't-touch. This one will be up front and center; accessible, like a quilt should be. {Sidebar: I know. It will get dusty. I thought of that. I'm giving the bride & groom a lint roller to go with it.}

I'm still crunched for time. I took the picture above a few days ago, so I've got more than just the ditch quilting done now and I think I can make it. Even if I have to pull an all-nighter.

As Lane put it, I do like a challenge.