Last night I said it would probably be four in the morning before I got to bed, well I missed by half an hour for it was four thirty before I finally fell into bed exhausted. The sad thing is that even though I was sleepy and tired, I was still awake at six thirty. At that time I changed the alarm from eleven to noon. When the alarm went off I did not think that I could get up but I did and was packing the quilts by one.
I could not just fold the quilts in half then in half again but had to fold to a specific size so that they would fit in the box. I managed to get all twenty into the box and could push them down to fit but I could not get the tape tight enough to hold the quilts down. Out of the box came all the quilts and I searched for another box and finally decided that one of the bubble wrap boxes would work. This time I folded the quilts in half and then rolled them and placed them into the box. They were not quite as long as the box so I took one of the quilts and folded it in thirds and then thirds again and put it down the side to use that extra space. The very last quilt was folded and put on top. They fit perfectly into the second box and then I used what seemed like several hundred yards of clear tape to hold the box tightly closed. The hard part was getting the box wrapped in kraft paper and this time I did not use as much tape. I could not believe that I spent an hour getting the quilts packed ready to mail.
When I got to the post office I asked the lady if I could use some of her priority tape and then I learned that the post office does not want it used for wrapping packages. She said that if anyone asked about the tape on the box then she would tell them that I had the tape at home. Years ago one could get the tape free from the post office but she told me that she even has a hard time getting it for use at the post office. I just put one row of the priority tape after she told me that. I wanted the priority tape so the employees would know that it was a priority package. I was going to put more clear tape but she assured me the package was fine. So now the package is in the care of the post office and should be in Virginia by Friday to be packed in the container going to the Middle East.
At three this morning I sewed the last stitch and then I spent an hour and a half getting the last seven quilts photographed and the photos cropped and resized. I should have gone to bed and left the photos until later but I just wanted it done. What a relief to have the quilts finished and now in the mail. I am going to continue making quilts until I use all my fabric but I am not going to push myself as hard as I did the last four weeks. Lynn said she sends a box to the Philippines every three months so I will find out the dates and then will work toward that. I don’t have to get them all done this summer, but it would be nice to have all the cotton fabric gone and then I would have more room in my studio to work.
I ended up with eight quilts with the teddy bears dressed in green and orange. No way was I going to take the time to photograph this last group separately for they are the same except for the backs. I did have to take the shot twice for I had failed to get all six in the picture.
This is the third quilt I made with this fabric but each has a different back.
Why I took this picture I really don’t know. It was four in the morning is my only excuse.
It is five in the afternoon and I need to make a quick trip to the Ruston Library and a stop at the bread store. Think while I am up there I will just stop by Taco Bell and have supper. I am rationalizing that I am too tired to cook. Then it is home to watch NCIS at seven and when that goes off I am going to bed.