IT'S DONE!!!

It's not perfect, but it's something much better...DONE!

Yup, the tent is finished, at least as far a sewing is concerned.  Well, I'll add some ties to the doors/doorways, after I take it back down off of the frame from waterproofing, but that hardly counts considering all that has gone into this tent until now!

Pictures?  There will be some, if not this weekend then after Estrella is done and I'm back home. 

Was it worth it?  Yes.

I won't do it again.  I'll buy one if I ever need a new one.  Panther Primitives seems to have a nice selection, they have the equipment and the staff, and I think that it would be worth it, though not cheap.  So someday, they may get my business, but for now, I've made this one and I'm going to use it.

If I could have known some things in advance, I'd have done some things differently, but nothing major.  I didn't know, back when I bought the canvas, that I had access to so many people willing to answer questions through the various Atenveldt Yahoo groups.  I should have, but I didn't.  They actually did help enough that I am not sure this would have happened without their help.  If I had known to ask them earlier, I'd have gone ahead and bought the Sunforger, but what I have will be fine.

I can't even think what else I'd do differently, I'm so numbed I guess, from shoving those yards of canvas through the machines, over and over and over.  Every flat-felled seam is at least triple stitched.  The loops are canvas wrapped around nylon belting and they were stitched 4 times, full length, before I started attaching them to the tent. 

I'd love to have enough time left to attach an inner valance, so that the ties to the frame would be hidden between the outer and inner valances.  Maybe I can add that later.  I'd still like to have a separate set of inner walls, something in a color, maybe a nice home-dec fabric with a woven design.  I had looked at several a couple weeks back, but that was an expense that I couldn't justify right now.

For today, have to get the tent on the frame and get the waterproofing sprayed on, help Jim finish attaching the floor and uprights on the trailer, finish up myriad garb details, start loading the van, packing stuff...it's going to be a long two days before I get out of here on Monday morning.