It's Finally Time to Hand Quilt the Baskets

Well, it's time. My Worry Baskets (the Trick or Treat quilt pattern by Blackbird Designs) is finally going in the hoop. I had it on the list to start hand quilting later on this year, but suddenly I'm in the mood right now.

Getting ready to put it in the hoop!

I finished this quilt top in the fall of 2012 to my utter shock and disbelief. It's the first complicated (forever) quilt top I had ever attempted and really, I thought it was totally nuts to even be cutting out the fabrics when I did. After dithering for a couple months in total consternation about what was percolating in my brain, I jumped in and drew ALL the baskets and handles onto the back side of my fabrics with a pen. I guess the thought was, if I committed myself by marking, then cutting the fabrics, I wouldn't easily give up.

A closer look at my Worry Baskets quilt

Somehow I persevered though all the endless cutting and needle turn applique stitching until my eyes crossed, my brain turned to mush and eventually I ended up with a huge pile of appliqued baskets to put together into a quilt top. Not that I stitched them in three months like they said happened in the book. Ooh la la! No. I took lots of breaks. Sometimes I only appliqued ten blocks a month. Other times I sewed up thirty in one weekend.

Checking it all out....

I worked on other projects at the same time--things that got finished and kept me from losing my mind. From start to finish, this quilt top took almost exactly three years. Not that I'm ashamed of that number or anything. Important things do take time to unfold! And yes, I knew it needed hand quilted when I finished up, but I wasn't the least bit ready for that step.

Can you tell that I love baskets?

Not right then. I was just so..... tired of the baskets. In a totally positive way of course.*wink

This is definitely something that says
'hand quilt me'....

But seriously, you know how time can give back perspective? Now I am back to loving these baskets to pieces. Yes, they aren't all perfect. Some of those little middle-of-the-basket squares look more like circles.*wince  I did better as I went along and also, I think I got more forgiving as I went along! There was a point where I was just so incredibly amazed that I was still working on this quilt. Could I have went to raw edge applique and still thought it looked great? Hmm... maybe not, I do have a few principles!

Worry Baskets looking dreamy

Anyway, it's all my very own stitching, from my own needles and thread. Every. Single. Basket. (I wonder how many needles got bent, broken and other-wise mangled in the making?)  Initially, after the quilt top was finished, I had this little ache of disappointment about all the black in my quilt. Too much dark and moody. It was supposed to be soft and dreamy in my imagination and the finished product didn't come out right. No way was I making even one extra basket though. I was Done.

All the fabrics from my stash!

Now I can see the dreamy. Thank goodness! Folding it up and putting it away for awhile was good for me us. We're a team again and I like that so... much. There is new appreciation, which feels wonderful. I am still concerned about my sanity, but then, hand quilting seems to work wonders for that too.

Gonna take a while to quilt this one....

The only thing I changed about the pattern was the colors. Fall colors are gorgeous, but I couldn't see making a replica and not getting bored. {More bored?} Crazy huh? Since the original picture is what I fell in love with....Towards the end of getting the baskets finished up, I almost copped out on the fleur de-lis' though. After a good long study of the original quilt, I decided I needed to make them. For me. They are an essential design element to loving this quilt, making all the good connections to antique quilts in my head.

I want to say good luck to Monica on your fabulous start! You will never regret making it. And a huge thank you to Supergoof (even though you don't know me from Adam) for always being a great inspiration to keep going on my own quilt. Without those incredible pictures floating around the Net, I would have probably folded it all up forever.