Turning Vents and Diamonds

After 4 weeks of working on other peoples balloons I finally got a full day to work on my own. I cant explain how frustrating it was to see all my fabric sitting in a pile on the shelf for nearly 30 days and wanting to get at least one panel sewn together. I'm a fairly patient person, but when I start a project it is all I ever think about and all I ever want to work on. My patience was definitely tested. Although I didn't get anything done on my own balloon over the last month, I did get to make a little artwork for a customer (along with my boss Gayle Stroble and her sister Debbie). Check out this beautiful logo we made for our friends Mike and Jennifer Parks!
 

Now, back to my own balloon...
I had already cut out the diamonds from the colored fabric last month. My first goal was to get them sewn in so I would have a complete panel #3. I have completed all but three. There is a slight difference in elasticity the dark grey and the colors which made sewing the first few a little difficult. After I figured out the way each fabric reacted to stretching, they went in pretty easy. Here is a picture of my first complete diamond (which will actually be my outer turning vent).
 
I absolutely LOVE the color contrast! The green looks just as amazing.

I am still recording every working minute of my progress and will make a second sample time lapse video once the sewing is done. I took a few pictures of the shop after I was done sewing in the majority of the diamonds... I took over a few baskets and envelope bags....


 
 

I decided to make my turning vents as simple to install (and repair) as possible. Here is a diagram of what I came up with. The outer turning vent will simply overlap the inner. The entire vent will be properly reinforced with load tapes where they are needed.

That's all I have for now. Thanks to all of you who have shown your support for my project. It keeps me motivated and it is nice to know you all care!