Gone with the Wind

 Here is the finished project.  Unfortunately I had problems.  I believe in an earlier post I explained the "me" factor in everything I do.  I pieced my background, machine quilted it and then formed the tree using the twisted branches technique.  I cut strips of batik in to tiny little pieces with a rotary cutter and placed them on my branches. I then placed a black tulle layer over the entire wall hanging and stippled the leaves in place.  It looked marvelous.   After choosing the black for the binding, I sewed it in place, blocked the quilt and let it dry overnight. I was on target to finish before the deadline for a local quilt show today.  All night I thought of what I might do different if I had a little more time.

This morning I awoke unpinned the quilt and decided to press the binding once more before attaching a label and trotting off to the show.  Here is the me factor....I touched the tulle with the hot iron and it melted!!!! Just the corner but enough to be a disaster. A tornado couldn't have caused more damage to my tree, and my beautiful project was gone with the wind.  I was heart sick. At 7AM this little wall hanging was a beauty, at 8AM I was near tears and by 9AM I was ready to throw it away.  I wanted to add some beads and my husband kept saying no..it would distract from the tree. So I rounded the corners re-bound the quilt...did I mention I was out of the binding fabric so I had to make do with the pieces I had. (I should have added the beads.)   As you can see the binding and not the wind, fell this tree,  I have never been very good with binding and this is a display of my inadequacy.  I am still heart sick but I am taking it to the show.  I will make another, I will learn a lesson, and with God as my witness I will never touch tulle with an iron again.