Such a Good Finish!

 The HaHa quilt is totally finished up! So hard to believe after all these years that everything is done {except for a label}. It's been such a long time coming!

The HaHa Quilt is done!!!

As most of you know, I've always been just a little bit doubtful about the addition of the outside triangle border. Did it need it or not? I thought the added color would help make the center 'pop' better and give the entire quilt a bit more of a solid feeling. Then later I just wanted to rip it off because something about it didn't sit exactly right.

Looking so much better than I ever dreamed

Once again, I am tremendously relieved to see that yes, this design decision was meant to be. Every time I wavered or questioned, I ended up leaving it 'cuz what was going to replace it? With the hand quilting doing that lovely texture thing, it all suddenly makes perfect sense!*sigh  Did you notice the scallop hand quilting in the center area? First time I've ever done this motif and though I adore the look there in that spot, I'm very glad that I didn't end up stitching scallops over the entire quilt. Which I definitely considered doing for five or ten minutes. Hmm... No. Not today. So tempting and yet, it just didn't quite resonate with me at the time.

Loving the scalloped stitching texture

The color in the pictures is a little weird. The contrast between the creamy white fabric and the grayed down cream sections is very hard to get a proper representation of. And yes, I know it's not everyone's preference to blend all these shades of creams and whites into one quilt, but I personally love the juxtaposition. Looks so, so good close up and in person. No regrets there at all!

We'll all just laugh together...

I still have to laugh at the idea that the 'Ha Ha' portions of a quilt were due to me totally and completely miscalculating the measurements of the outside border. Obviously by a lot! Now I can say with absolute conviction--That was the very best mistake ever made around here!

So glad that I stuck it out with this project!

At this time that this quilt was started, zeroing in on solid colored fabrics and using lots of  'white' fabrics seemed very challenging to me. Lots of decisions felt excruciatingly difficult in terms of trying to 'see' through to the [imagined} end result. 

Testing out the look in the guest room

I wanted a quilt that gave off a whimsical vibe. Something cozy, not in the least bit cold or contemporary looking. The very last decision made, using the large, old fashioned red/white gingham fabric for binding? That almost seems like serendipity. One of those moth ball smelling fabrics given to me by my aunt last year. You know I would have never in a million years thought to go looking for that exact fabric, and yet it works wonderfully in that position. This turned out to be such a sweet, happy looking quilt. So thankful to see it finished up at at last!

The perfect binding

And 'Seedpod Flower' is next up in the hoop. I've been anxiously awaiting the time that I could spend with this beauty in my lap.

The new quilt in the hoop!

There's just something about the mixture of colors that makes this little heart of mine feel mushy and sentimental. Maybe it reminds me of colors that my grandmother used in her quilting? I did manage to slip one tiny fabric of hers into the quilt so there's that....

Scrappy, scrappy

It's been the usual CRazy around here so it took a couple nights to hand quilt the centerpiece of this quilt. Nothing flashy or extra special, just some basic big stitch diagonal lines and a little bit of echo quilting here and there. Next up will be the same, same, same throughout the rest of the quilt so mostly having to figure out colors of thread.

Just getting started with the hand quilting

All of my sisters have been in town this week, so yep, the six of us have been up to all kinds of trouble! Just kidding. Some hiking {not me}, celebrating moms birthday, thrifting, eating out, lots and lots of visiting. The thrifting stuff is right up my alley of course, and now I'm continually looking for shirts to repurpose for use in quilting. 

Adding some shirts to the fabric stash!

I try to leave the out-of-town family plenty of time to visit the parents on their own and not crowd in every moment of the visit. It's difficult not to want to be in on all the fun, but mom and dad are getting older and need some time for those good visits which only tend to happen during the quieter moments. 

So proud of her!

On a different note, mom had recently finished the machine quilting on her Improv. quilt and I had assured her that I could put the binding on for her. Just like I always did in prior years. Can you believe this is the very first quilt that my mom has completely finished since their house burned down in a fire back in 2014? She has definitely started several quilts in the ensuing years, but something changed after that event and she became very insecure about her quilting, often forgetting many of the things she knew about the process. She had difficulties with her new sewing machine. Her vision would get bad at the times she wasn't feeling good, which was often. Or her design wall too small to bother with. Long story short, we believe she has been dealing with Alzheimers for many years now, no doubt set off by that trauma. 

She was extremely excited to take part in the Improv. meetings I held earlier this year. Crazy happy to have a plan of attack. Often trying to jump ahead with the project even though she had zero experience with this method! Early on I determined that if it was remotely possibly, we were going to make sure that mom ended up with a true blue finish at the end of this effort. And so it happened. Just take a look at her proud smile! Lots and lots of hand holding and seam ripper sessions. Me trying to give suggestions and/or talk her out of something she was determined to do. Sometimes mom got mad at me or ridiculously irritated with 'Improv.', blaming all the mistakes on the method, her machine or 'the thread'. Other times she went ahead with the way she wanted to do something and then I had to come in and help her out of a bind. 

I am positively blown away by how much this quilt looks like a 'mom' quilt {colors etc. she would have used years ago} but still holds true with the improv. formula everyone used. Her memory might be a little tricky these days, but she remembers more than she knows that she knows. This was a very sweet moment, her getting to hold and peruse a quilt that was made by HER. She gets all the credit. Then she got to show it off when her daughters came to town. How perfect is that?