A Good Finish

Not getting very far with the paperwork, but at least there has been time spent there. Just like with quilting, I figure every little bit accomplished equals forward progress. In better news, there's a new quilt finish! This has been such a cheerful quilt to work on. Can't believe it didn't end up in the hoop much sooner. Totally sanity saving, believe me! Why do people tend to believe that yellow isn't a positive mood enhancer?

Sweet Tarts

Maybe it's the combination of yellow and pink that works all the charm? This was a quilt top that was maybe started back in 2018? Can't find the original post now and don't want to scroll through pages and pages to find it. The beginning was sparked by an attempt at improv., free-style cut baskets and one of those stacks of simmering fabrics that are always begging to be next in line.

The full quilt

I seem to remember struggling with the inside of the baskets. Flowers? Leaves? And then somehow that morphed into adding little baskets too. Why not do both? There was a rough drawn design at one time, but it didn't take long to figure out that all the other border ideas didn't quite belong in this particular quilt. There is generally always that point in sewing a quilt top together, where the whole thing just kind of shrieks at you to 'go away' and leave it alone. Pretty please and thank you, with a cherry on top.

Close up of the little baskets

I loved the idea of framing the little baskets in simple half-squared triangle borders and using the bright, intense cheddar fabric just made the most sense at the time. Been itching to use it for years! And that pink floral fabric was just pleading to be included too. Didn't really know the very best use, but finally settled on super easy blocks. I like how the floral acts more like a background fabric in these understated blocks. Sometimes this sort of simplicity feels a bit like 'cheating', but what's the use of pretty printed fabric if we can't enjoy it?

Loving these larger baskets

I hand quilted around the edges of the baskets in organic, radiating rows {like usual}, but left the inside area free this time. It looks a little bit rumpled in the pics, but looks great in person. It's interesting when there are areas not quite as heavily quilted as the surroundings. See how the fabric looks so much lighter inside the baskets? It must be the thread color I used that appears to darken the outer basket fabric. It's a variegated cream/tan/light brown thread that seems all but invisible, but apparently not!

So happy with the cheddar/pink mix

After I posted the picture of this quilt being 'next up in the hoop', an observant reader emailed me and let me know that the cheddar triangles frame {on the very bottom right little basket} had a row turned upside down {check the second picture in the post}. Super kind of her to give me a heads up before the quilting actually happened!

In the end I decided to leave it be, though you can bet that I considered it very seriously for well over a 24 hour period--pretty much the time frame where it would have been the easiest to start ripping things out. It's something that I find to be charming and whimsical in another persons quilt, so whats the point of being fussy in mine? And there you go. Sometimes the mistakes just have to become part of the quilt around here. I had this feeling that it would be something to regret if this quilt ended up looking a little too perfect. And you know that I sometimes rip things out. I do! And would have this time for sure if I thought it would be something to bother me forever.

Some quilts just need the hand quilting love...

So funny that I had actually never noticed this mistake until the exact moment that it was pointed out! This quilt didn't seem demanding at all about the binding and so I went ahead with the scrappy look that seems to be my fall-back these days. There were several orphaned binding pieces in various shades of pink to make up the needed length. One of them is probably a little bit on the 'too light' side to perfectly compliment the quilt, but does it really matter? This quilt is striking enough not to have to rely on binding color for needful spark. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why those two little totes never seem to run out...

This one might have to stay with me

You may have noticed the sweet vintage-look floral used as the backing fabric. It's something that was bought last year at a senior citizens rummage room sale. Love it so much! Totally made my day to use it so successfully, though it probably would have been a fun challenge to incorporate it into the front of a quilt too. I had to smile at one of my daughters when she first saw it. Her face! Apparently this floral is an acquired taste. And here I thought it was absolutely fantastic!

Spring Flowers

All 18 of the Spring Flower blocks are finished up now too. Once I started hand stitching the leaves to the background it went really fast. Of course it helped that I was stuck in a vehicle for most of two days traveling to and fro a family funeral. While this was a very sad occasion, it wasn't exactly unexpected as the health issues had been ongoing and/or progressing for a little over five years.

All orphaned 'cut-out' circles and scrap bin fabric leaves

Of course, there's never enough time with loved ones, and I don't have a clue what to say to my sister.that would be the least bit comforting. Losing a companion is heartbreaking under almost any circumstance. We were just relieved that the graveside services allowed accommodation for all of the family who wanted to attend. Even a month or two earlier, the numbers would have been severely limited which would have made a distressing situation even more traumatic. As it was, my sister had to make unhappy choices within the Covid safety rules and just do the very best she could within those boundaries.

As far as these quilt blocks are concerned, something needs to be done to wake them up. I'm completely rethinking the colors/ideas for alternate blocks. Right now the blocks look very soft and cozy close up, but absolutely boring from a distance. Am keeping them on the wall until something interesting floats through my brain. Not feeling especially creative right now, but the hand stitching and hand quilting feels super soothing. Gotta take the 'feel goods' where you find them these days. And the rare moments of inspiration too...

 

Starting and Finishing

Finally brought out the Chunky Tulips for hand work. It feels like a great project for July and I definitely need to get moving on the applique list. These four represent 30% of the blocks being finished so that's a good start!

Chunky Tulip blocks

I've been thinking and thinking and then, thinking some more about the latest AHIQ challenge. It's called 'Positive Thinking' which isn't always my strong suit. I'm more the glass half empty gal, generally expecting things to get worse before they get better! Probably why I tend to veer towards making happy looking quilts, always wanting my surroundings to be more hopeful than I am on the inside. I live with an incredibly optimistic guy which is a blessing and honestly, sometimes a little, tiny bit of hardship. He's Sunny Sam to my Pragmatic Pam and well..., you can only envision how that turns out on occasion! We have learned to avoid mornings. That's where everything falls apart if it's going to.*wink

So lots of ideas have been swirling around in my brain, but nothing very concrete coming together except of course that it needed to be improv. Then, last Friday, I walked past a saying {verse} I had stuck up on my inspiration board in the quilting room. It's something that I've had vague ideas about incorporating into a quilt some day, but never could quite conjure up the details. All of a sudden, the Positive Thinking challenge clicked into place.

The start of a new AHIQ challenge

Instead of starting yet another super, labor intensive applique quilt, why not go with improv. letters? And by deliberately choosing this verse, perhaps I can focus on 'positivity' in a more personal way. I just don't wanna get sucked down into the mire of Covid-19 emotional ups and downs in regards to a quilt. If I worked exclusively with those feelings, I might have a very bleak quilt indeed. Ughh...  There's actually a meme going around that says this, 'Stop complaining about your life. There are literally people who live in Washington State.' Ha! 'Nuff said.

Anyway, this is the start of whatever it will be. I'm not sure beyond finishing the verse. So far it's all been going very well, lots of intuitive cutting and sewing on the letters. Definitely more free-style than I've ever accomplished before! I know it's been mentioned before, but here it is again. The book you want to reference for making custom pieced letters is 'Word Play Quilts' by Tonya Ricucci. The method she explains easily translates/incorporates your personal 'voice' through the style of letters you personally choose to make. This is the third time around for me and it's absolutely getting easier each and every time I attempt this!

The cream print, softer purple and blue fabrics are all cut up shirts, straight out of the closet. The cream print is running out fast which is a shame, because I wanted all the background of the letters to be the same. Waah...

Had to fix a letter or two

That's default thinking though. Mixing up the backgrounds will probably make the quilt more interesting in the long run, right? I've already went back and fixed the second 'o' in Wool and also, had to fix the 'n' in the second And. When I sewed the pieces together, it ended up looking like an 'r' next to an 'i'. The third 'W' was sewn, redefined, and then finally tossed out altogether and restarted. While there's no reason to get terribly fussy with this quilt, it's important that it reads well overall. It's a subtle thing, the attitude that develops alongside the message. Trying to get it right....

Completed baby quilt!

The baby quit is finished up now, just needs a label! It was hard to get a good picture of it because the light kept washing out the lighter pinks. The plaid border reads green or yellow depending on the light, but regardless, it seems to help keep the quilt from looking too moody.

Still happy with the floral sashing...

I'm very happy with this sweet little quilt, but it obviously will read as too 'traditional' for some people. One of the few people who have seen this already, told me that she probably wouldn't like it for a baby quilt for herself, but nevertheless, assured me that my sister-in-law will undoubtedly appreciate the old-fashioned theme. Crossing my fingers the little bit of added hand quilting will up the appeal factor!

A feminine, old fashioned look

Sometimes I wonder. What exactly are the important variables of our lives that make up our intensely personal likes and dislikes? Apparently these preferences can change somewhat with the times, trends and life experiences. And too, there are those of us who can more more easily overlook qualities that don't necessarily appeal, if the item in question is home-made. Thankfully, that is something that still matters in our huge, extended family. There's only been one time in all these years of gifting where I had a quilt basically discarded as worthless {that I'm aware of!}. Lesson learned. When we gift something, it's not longer ours. Gift generously as our hearts dictate, but preferably with no strings {expectations} attached.

A little bit of machine and hand quilting....

It's hard to see, but if you look closely, you can see that this backing fabric has little mice on it. I don't often give a shout out to designers, but this is a Cotton & Steel fabric that I bought special for this little quilt. It just felt like it needed something to 'baby' it up. This particular fabric caught my eye because it was a subtle pink, with fun, discreetly babyish elements,. More, because it feels amazing. Then after being washed up, it gets even better! So,so soft. Sort of a cross between a muslin and a linen fabric which drapes wonderfully. Love it!

Patchwork Doodle Is a Done Deal

Had to keep this one back until it was safely delivered to the birthday girl! My oldest daughter said from the moment she saw this quilt on the wall, 'Mom, this one's mine!' I don't think it even had any leaves on the improv. circles yet, and so honestly, I was a bit dubious.

Got it made just in time!

Not having a clue where the quilt was headed myself, how could she be so certain it was going to turn out to be something special? But she never wavered and in fact, always insisted that the quilt needed words too before it would be properly finished. Being the stubborn sort that I am, those words didn't get added until right at the point when the backing fabric was being figured out.

Patchwork Doodle with the new border work

The quilt just looked sadly out of proportion {not that I would have admitted it at the time of supposed quilt top completion} and seemed to be whining for some extra length. Please, pretty please with sugar on top? Well fine. If I was going to add a border top and bottom of the quilt, it might as well include words too! I considered a lot of different phrases like motivational ones, sweet and sappy, biblical etc. and finally settled on the first words to a Billy Joel song. It's something that I knew she would instantly recognize as it was once her very favorite song. Quilts and smiles always make for a winning combination in my book...

Still crushing on the freestyle circles and applique addition...

I stole some of the backing fabric that I had bought for the quilt and dug up the extra log cabin blocks that never made it into the quilt top. They were a smidge more narrow than the ones along the edges of the quilt, but oh well! Improv. leaves room for variation, right? The dark maroon strip was added for extra emphasis when things started looking a little mushy, the letters were hand drawn and then traced onto the chosen fabric. and all in all, I could just feel the energy in the quilt change for the better. It was a great feeling.

Some quilts are better with a song connection...

Except that I was hiding it from her that it was going to be finished for her birthday--was working in odd little bursts of time. Oh the mistakes I made!*sigh  It never ceases to amaze me that the more I hurry, the more 'oops' that happen. Me and that trusty seam ripper definitely became best friends for awhile. Thankfully this quilt is all about freestyle and improv. and so nothing is perfectly square. A little bit more wonkiness just blends in! Oddly enough, that really did help in just shaking off the irritation of getting the math wrong yet again and moving rapidly back to the point of making good forward progress.

Nothing is square or perfect...

It still feels really incredible to look at this completed quilt. It's so not ME and yet somehow it is. I know that this quilt was started on a whim one day {mostly a bad, don't care sort of mood} and that the color scheme was developed around the vintage yellow/purple/green and orange floral proudly displayed in the center of the quilt. It was a challenge. A big, scary, improv. challenge that felt almost unattainable {and a lot overwhelming}. Yet somehow it all came together anyway. I seriously doubt I would have ever attempted something similar without the perfect storm of events and elements that happened and/or were available for my creative mental purging on that specific day. Basically I had received some of the most shake-up-my-world sort of news that day and needed to get deeply immersed in a quilting project. Pronto.

A different sort of look than the usual!

Gotta love quilting as a therapy tool! It was a rough, very unimpressive start as most of my loyal readers know, but somehow turned out to be one of the most playful quilts I've ever finished. How does that even happen? As you can see, it was quilted very simply and then I added the echo hand quilting around the letters just because I adore the look. A stripped down approach and very little big stitch quilting, a little bit of sweating and a whole lot of wondering if the whole thing was ruined forever. How I dread machine quilting!*ughh  But why bother with a massive hand quilting effort when the fabric and funky patchwork were doing all the heavy lifting?

It's not the The Beatles but I think she loved it anyway....

So now you know what I've been working on for the last couple weeks in and around a bit of hand quilting and other odd bits of sewing you've seen. Just couldn't share it with you in case my daughter decided to check in with my quilting blog as she likes to do every couple months!

 Oh. And that annual church campout thing we do every Memorial Day Weekend for about 20 + years of our life? I loved seeing this quilt below every time I walked inside my camper this past weekend. Made me smile inside. Every. Single. Time. Taking a gorgeous quilt along on a dirty, off-in-the-woods camping trip just feels a bit illogical and well, luxurious! Why not?

Be still my heart....

But it's a lovely, lovely place to camp once we get there and get settled in. Especially when the weather was as good as we had it this year. Not a drop of rain! So many memories being made and now we're making them with the next generation. Loved seeing so many of my nieces and nephews having a blast this weekend doing all the things we did when we were their age.

Nieces and nephews at the high mountain lake

I've said it before and I'll say it again--one of the very best things about our campground is that there is zero cell service. NONE. Bye, bye social media! So what do you think the first thing we do once were back in the land of civilization and have had a proper shower? You're reading it right here in real time..... lol

The First Finish {or Two} for 2018

It's past time for a finish around here. I was seriously starting to get a little twitchy seeing my completed quilt top list growing and not ending up with any real finishes. Do you do that too? Blue and Gold Strings has been in the hoop for well over a month, so it ended up being the first true blue finish for 2018. Such a great quilt to be stitching on though, couldn't have planned it better.

Blue and Gold Strings

I have adored getting the hoop out and just letting my mind wander, while working with this free style quilt. It has such a happy feel to it that it always worked like a magic elixir in making me relax and unwind. Ahh.. just letting the tension and stress of the day slip away while enjoying some fabric and thread play...

Looking at the corner applique

Though hand quilting is rather slow going, it has so many benefits I cannot imagine ever quitting it completely. {Not to mention that I can't afford to have everything professionally quilted!} Getting to spend quality time with fabric in the hoop is like that extra bit of sweetness that we reward ourselves with sometimes. I've contemplated giving this quilt away, but honestly, it might not be best time yet. Most of my family doesn't appreciate this one quite as much as I do.

Just enough stitching....

Stitching on this quilt has really helped restore my flagging faith in my personal ability to make unique and charming quilts. I think anyone who regularly quilts knows very well the normal ups and downs of creativity. There is always the 'better' quilt just over the horizon if only we can just focus for an extra minute or two. Maybe next time we'll get everything just right! Haha  You can believe that I'm already in the quilting room diving in to the next three or four projects with much more enthusiasm than they probably warrant.

Hanging off the deck railing

So, no, you don't need to feel that I'm down in the dumps and need a morale booster. Some quilts just speak a little louder, tell the story a little better, and perhaps more importantly, reflect more perfectly what we feel that our muse looks like in our head. It's just a wispy feeling that doesn't always gel correctly in every single quilt that we complete. And that's okay. We get parts and pieces of it right all the time and that just propels us to keep moving forward.

Cannot even imagine this quilt without the border!

And not to bore you, but the second finish of the year was that quick little picnic quilt I pulled out the other day on a whim: The 70's Are Calling. I skipped the batting and put a flannel back on it like Beth so nicely recommended. I'd have never thought of it myself and it just makes me like the quilt all the more.

The 70's Are Calling

Just a bit of diagonal wavy line machine quilting and smaller than normal width binding and it was done! Easy peasy. It has a lovely weight to it and any stretch you see is from the blocks not being squared prior to sewing.

A fun flannel backing....

It will be used primarily for covering up cold groceries, throwing across a wet patch in the car, sitting on the grass at the park etc., and just generally making sure that there is quilt always available in the car. I'm not sure I would ever go out and specifically buy these types of fabrics for quilt making, but it turned out to be a fast, fun little project. Who knew where this quilt making addiction would be taking me 20+ years after that stutter-stop beginning! Linking up with sew, stitch, snap and SHARE #19!

It's a Wrap!

My goal this year is to have more finishes than great starts. It's been really tough at times as I feel like there's a leash attached to my creativity. But I'm trying. 

Summers End is a finish!

This quilt {Summer's End} was started in the fall of 2015 and was a quick journey to completed quilt top. I had lots of reasons for putting this quilt together, but mostly I was challenging myself to use up some oldy green fabrics. Plus I needed a fast little hand work project. Which meant the initial decisions were made quickly and without a lot of deep thought. Hmm...

Looking so much better in a close up...

So yeah. It is what it is and I can't say that I'm ashamed of it! But I knew it was lacking just a little bit of that 'ooh, la la' factor that gets us excited to keep quilting. I pulled it out of the quilt drawers this spring in anticipation of finishing it up for a young couple in our family. {Very belated wedding gift, but I felt that I needed time to consider the matter of quite possibly setting a precedent?}There was just something about this quilt top that I really thought could be salvaged into something fun. Thus the decision to try 'tying' a quilt once again after about 20 years!

My fantastic helper, in between baseball season and summer job.
Mom! My arms are killing me!! Are you done yet?

In my reading, wool yarn was suggested for ties that balled up rather than stayed stringy. I went ahead and made the purchase and now, after the first washing, I have very fuzzy, frazzled little ties. It's a bit raggedy looking at the moment, but I'm confident after some good use and more washes, this quilt will have little balls of pink yarn to look at. Personally, I think it adds to the fun, young and don't-take-me-too-seriously vibe going on with this quilt.

The green looks different in every light...

It was quite the experience trying to remember how to 'tie' a quilt properly and I made a couple mistakes. The biggest one being that I didn't tie square knots, instead just knotting it repeatedly and pulling on it real tight. Ughh. There will probably be a couple ties come out eventually if the yarn doesn't fuzz up quickly. Oh well! I machine quilted in a stitch-in-the-ditch pattern throughout the quilt and then came back and hand quilted every little basket with perle cotton. This thing will NOT be falling apart with or without the ties!

Trying to re-learn how to tie a quilt

The soft pink colored ties and binding help lighten the entire quilt up, which I felt it desperately needed. In the end I'm quite happy with the soft, loose drape of the quilt and the cozy look as well. This quilt will probably be used snuggling on the couch and it has the look of a something that won't be intimidating to eat popcorn and snackies while wrapped up in. Right?

A true-blue finish!

This is a pattern that looks marvelous done in the antique look such as sharp red baskets with a white background--all solid fabric punch and power. This one is lots softer and comes off very blendy with that floral basket fabric sort of sparkling in and out. It's not a perfect quilt by any means and I could have done a much better job choosing my fabrics. But it's a finish now and honestly, it just whets my appetite to work on more basket quilts. Get ready my friends, it's going to be a baskety summer around here in my little corner of the quilt world!

The First 2017 Finish!

First finish of 2017 is Geese Tracks and Black Shadow Applique! Yay! It feels so good to have one that's quilted to the point of getting binding on. Whew! This years starting out a little slow compared to last.

Geese Tracks & Black Shadow Applique finished!

That's 'cuz I keep having a million and one interruptions and/or demands that for some reason have to take precedence over quilting. What's up with that? hehe  So I'm just focusing on trying to enjoy the journey. Thank goodness for hand quilting. Stitch after stitch, it reminds me of why I like to do this so very much!

Always a lovely sight to see the finished texture

I was actually quite terrified to start quilting this particular quilt. Anything with applique always gets at least the minimum of hand quilting around here, but still, the overall stitching pattern was being very elusive. Finally I quit ignoring and passing over this one and just got it sandwiched and pinned so I could do something. And, as always, once it was in the hoop, it started being a no-brainer.

I think it's saying, 'care to snuggle?'

I probably over stitched the geese track blocks compared to the rest of the quilt, but that's what made sense to me. Then I did a basic clam shell stitch pattern behind the applique flowers. And on and on, working that perle cotton thread for the best texture.*wink

This one was an interesting journey for sure!

This has been another one of those moody quilts, sometimes looking quite cold and indifferent, and then at other times, feeling very warm and cozy. It all started a couple of years ago when I made a decision to sew up some geese track blocks. Didn't get very many finished when I was really quite tired of making them! So I stuck them on the wall and played with them until one day I found myself adding a surprisingly stark bit of applique to the mix. I also ramped up the challenge to myself by including a stack of gray fabrics I'd been wanting to play with forever {not an easy color for me to work with!}.

It's pretending to be shy hanging in the stairwell

One of my readers commented that the black flowers would look good in a red basket, and well, my mind started churning out the ideas. Next up was a border of tilted vases in the lovely greens that blended with the middle blocks and yes, one snazzy looking pink/red one! As I contemplated moving on the next border, I kept coming back to those blendy, more retro. looking fabrics mixed with a rather bland, medium gray fabric. It appealed to me because it was a subtle transition {while incorporating little pops of color}, yet made me anxious in terms of possibly muddying up the entire quilt. Yes, no, maybe so....

The center is where the entire quilt started....

Trusting my instincts, I went ahead with the fabrics while keeping the design very simple. Several of my readers were polite, but obviously not impressed. As would I have been had I not been involved in the designing itself! But by then, I already had a half baked idea of adding more of that silhouette looking black flower applique to the quilt.Only thing was, I really, really needed to lighten the edges of the quilt without distracting too much from the centerpiece.

And somehow it all came off, just like it was always meant to be!

After a thorough search through all possible fabric selections available to me in the quilt room {I did NOT want to go buy anything new!}, I finally turned a couple more medium gray fabrics over and used the back side. Along with the lighter white with gray print fabrics found in the stash--it seemed to give off the lighter, sparky bit of magic the quilt needed. And proved to be a very happy place to add on the black vine and flowers, which funnily enough, included a piece of black fabric turned over to maximum the color from the backside too, the perfect charcoal I was looking for! Why I didn't add leaves to the vine, I just don't know. It just seemed to be the right amount of applique at the time and it's only now that I've questioned that decision at all. But not too much. More black would have made the quilt look choppier instead of letting the eye flow around the quilt with the curve of the vine. All in all, it was immensely fun to play with the silhouette effect while attempting to not alternately darken the quilt to the point of depression!

The binding color was a tough choice as I initially thought to use pink. No go. And green, gray and black looked pretty blah too. Surprisingly enough, it was the sharp, orangey-red which made the cut {love how it ties back into one of the geese tracks block--one of the two blocks made with grandmas' fabric}. Of course there wasn't nearly enough in the stash so that had to be purchased new. Totally worth it as it helped bring the quilt more fully to that 'happy', cozy place I love my quilts to be in.

My Beautiful Pickle Dish Quilt is Finally Completed!

I told you I was on a finish-it-up roll this year! Still another finish to come if/when I get that other binding on, but enough about that. I finished my Pickle Dish Quilt! So very exciting. This quilt. Yeah. This quilt. Words almost fail me.

My beautiful Pickle Dish Quilt

Whew! This was one of those quilts actually made from a pattern: Material Obsession 2 book, the 'Gypsy Kisses' quilt. It's been on my quilty bucket list forever and one day back in December of 2012, I impulsively decided to go for it. My knees were quaking and I couldn't even totally understand the pattern {a frequent problem with me when it comes to more complex directions}.

It's all done!

I think what tipped me over the edge was the fact that once again I had pulled almost the same exact selection of fabric from out of the depths of my totes. Three times over a period of about six months. Yep, there they were again, demanding to be made into something wonderful. In a moment of weakness, I checked the fabric requirements for that gorgeous pickle dish I had been eyeing and somehow that led to today.

Hanging off our unfinished upstairs deck

I won't say it was easy for me. That foundation piecing absolutely drives me insane. Totally bonkers if you know what I mean. I had to commit and then recommit myself to the task. The work of getting this quilt together was about more than I could endure at times and so it slid to the very bottom of the list, over and over and over. In fact, it took almost two years to get to the quilt-top stage and many times that little bit of progress was in 15 or 30 minute bites of progress. Hey, even that eventually leads somewhere promising!

Loving the applique touch....

I was determined to bring it to a true blue finish this year as I was tired of it languishing in the drawers. This was an incredible quilt journey for me overall. Every tough quilt is a learning curve that we simple cannot undo and greatly adds to our repertoire of skills. I won't say this quilt is a mastery of any particular skills, but I made it through. Learned. Followed through. And now look at the results!

It was entirely hand quilted with mostly #8 Valdani Perle Cotton thread as I just couldn't imagine anything less. I adore the crinkly goodness that was immediately apparent after getting it washed and dried and I just kept looking at it thinking, 'I made this? Me?' Wowsers!

Where the real sewing gets done....

It's a wonderful feeling and I feel so proud. My quilt family has a brand new addition.*wink