my only completed project of the year

Even as I was creating some tester blocks, I knew this was going to be one of my favorite quilts.

It was supposed to be a baby quilt. But I found myself unwilling to compromise the design. I would have had to remove a row to make it reasonably baby-sized.

I wanted stars in each corner, and one in the middle. Since I also didn't want the quilt to be too small to use, I had to just go big. Then of course I had big dreams on the border, so I couldn't reasonably call it a baby quilt anymore. But I was thoroughly pleased with the design.

Next, I pulled out all of my quilt stencils. I picked my only stencil that doesn't have flowers or a scroll pattern.

I decided to do this motif in each all-white block, and thought I'd find something easier for the pieced blocks. But then I decided to just try the same motif in a pieced block, and...

Yeah, I loved it. That's why it took me all summer to hand quilt. That's also why I haven't done a post in a long time.

After doing this design in every block, I decided the motifs had to connect somehow. I didn't like having the quilting just floating in each block. So I pulled out all of my cups and rulers, and eventually came up with the right combination.

Sewing up the binding was the worst part! The fabric I chose was a little stiff, so two of my finger tips are still in the process of growing their skin back. I stabbed myself so many times. I just cannot work accurately with a thimble. But by the time I was done, I didn't even care. I SO fell in love with this one. And while quilting it, I discovered that it adequately covers an adult who is sitting on a couch watching tv. The new owner will have some options in how she would like to use it.

Here's the completed quilt. I believe you can click on the photos for a bigger image (someone tell me if that's not the case).

I was so pleased when I pulled it from the washing machine. No color bleeding, and no funky puckering. I hung it up and stretched it, let it set for a couple of hours, then threw in the dryer for a few minutes.

Folding it up and packing it into the box was the hardest part. I found myself coming up with reasons to keep it... And I have a lot of good ones. But in the end, I know it's going to a great home. I know it will see a lot of love and a lot of life. And really, if I keep every quilt I make, we'll have to move into a bigger house.

This was just mailed Monday. So of course, I am periodically checking the tracking information for anomalies. I do not want this getting lost in the mail or falling out of a truck and landing in a mud puddle, forgotten forever. Okay I'm scaring myself, because I know I can't actually find out those scenarios with just a tracking number.

I'm now imagining a Tom Hanks character opening up this box after a horrible Fed Ex airplane crash over the Rocky Mountains, and discovering that while he found the quilt to be adequately warm, his feet will stick out because it is too short for a reclining adult!

There may just come a day when I stop ignoring standard quilt sizing.

project updates

The month of March has begun, so obviously the quilting portion of my brain is exploding all over the place with new ideas. The winter lag has been shaken off, and this is where I traditionally bite off more than I can chew.

It's a good time for me to overview my current projects. I don't want anything getting too neglected.

The Gemini quilt hasn't progressed at all. I have been trying to find the perfect border. The idea I had in my head while I was piecing this ended up being a little bit stupid, so I need to find something else. As you can see, I have a new idea. I've been working on some combinations that will fit in with the design, but won't be so over-complicated that I won't want to work on it.

Then there's this little gem. A good friend of mine pieced this wall hanging from a collection of peacock inspired fabrics she fell in love with. I got the chance to do the quilting and binding. All that's left for this one is a good washing and a sleeve for hanging. I've never done a sleeve before, so naturally this has been sitting around at my house for a couple of years, now. Haha... Sorry Trish!

The same friend has not had much time to work on the blue and white Christmas quilt she's been planning for quite some time. So she turned over her fabrics to me, and I'm going to play around with them. These are amazing fabrics that I'm excited to work with. Also, I found a few in the box that clearly did not belong to the Christmas quilt... I am planning to barter for them later on. (Or maybe just steal them.)

And because I didn't have enough to work on, I decided to start a new project with some scraps I've been wanting to play with.

I haven't definitively decided exactly what this will be, but I know who it's for. We'll see if I can get it together and at least have a few of these quilts done before 2017.

There are three other quilts that aren't making this update. My Dreamer patchwork quilt feels like it's never going to be done (still actively quilting it). But it's something I will continue working on in my down time. There's also my big, red Aries quilt, which has been on the quilting frame since my son was born (5 years, if you're counting). Then there's my mothers heirloom quilt. That one is freaking huge, and must be hand-pieced. It's hexies, so hand piecing is really not slower than machine piecing.  Plus, when you're hand piecing, you can hear the tv :) But I put off working on it most of the time. It's so big, it feels a little hopeless. That'll be one I'll have plenty of time to work on once I'm checked into a retirement home. (For reference, I'm going to be 35 next month, so the heirloom quilt remains on the high shelf in the closet.)