Final Clearance! Week 1

In my last post, I showed some of the things I want to tackle as part of my personal Year-End Finish Challenge.  Yet the first project completed has been a non-sewing but quilt related project I've wanted to tackle for a long time --- a couple of quilt ladders! 

I was initially inspired after reading Rose Marie's Applique 'N Patch Quilting blog post on the ladders her husband makes for her.  Later I found Blair's design and instructions on her Wise Craft blog and just knew this was a doable project.  I purchased all the wood and dowels for these last year.  Then just like with a quilt project, although it seemed like a simple enough endeavor, in my mind it morphed into a daunting enough prospect that I let it sit.  However, with the reminder about what I had chosen as my "Word of Year" hanging in my quilt space...

....it only made sense to finish the year as I started.  So I decided it was time to make the donuts!!!

The plan was to make two ladders.  Over the weekend I had checked the measurements of the corner in my bedroom where I wanted to put them and confirm how I would need to cut up the wood to fit.  Fortunately, I only needed to cut down the lengths of one set of the wood supports I had bought and could cut all the dowels into two pieces which would accommodate both ladders.  On Monday after getting the laundry done and while my sewing cabinets were still closed up,  I took the time (and available space) to start cutting everything up.  Tuesday, I finished up the cutting and then sewed up muslin fabric guards for all the dowels -- basically a tube of muslin to slide onto the dowels to protect the quilts from any snags or oils in the wood.  Those done and applied, I could then put the ladders together.  I was able to load some of the quilts on to them that night and finished adding the rest yesterday.

Here they are in place!  I will have to move the bed and my nightstand to the right just a little to give the back ladder a little more breathing room.  For now I'm just glad to have them done and all the wood out of the way.  In 2015, I plan to work on fixing up all the upstairs bedrooms (and hopefully also adding a long desired laundry area) so when I'm ready to paint my bedroom, I'll give some thought to what kind and color finish I want to apply to the ladders.  But for now, I can go back to sewing!