Neverending WIP is finished

Yippee! Thanks to three short vacations this fall, when I spent each evening quilting in my motel room, my Neverending WIP is finally finished. (I suppose I should give it a different name, but what?) This week, I finished it up with some last quilting, binding and embellishment. 

The idea for this quilt started with a video I took in early January 2012 while on a walk in Hawk Island Park. We had mild temperatures and very little snow that winter, and I was struck by the dramatic clouds, lighting and spare landscape. When I finally decided to make the quilt in February 2013, I had no idea how to transfer the photo to a full-size pattern, and now I don't remember the details of how I actually did it. I do remember looking around on the internet to find out how to posterize a clip from my video (to simplify the colors) and to make it into a sketch, which I then made into tiles to print onto 8 1/2 by 11 inch pages. I taped the pages together and drew over prominent lines with a marker, eliminating many of the tree branches. (I'm sure there is a very simple procedure for all of this, but I just went at it in my usual clueless, intuitive way.) I still have the various versions of the photo:

Original video clip

Posterized version

Sketch version

I traced the pattern in reverse onto freezer paper and then used techniques from Ruth B. Mc Dowell's Piecing Workshop to construct the quilt. 

All of the fabric is from my stash. The ceramic buttons I used for embellishment are from a collection I purchased last year from Sandra Lance. I sorted through them on impulse this week and found three that were a perfect match. The batting is a scrap of Mountain Mist polyester, probably Quilt-Light. I used various cotton and cotton/polyester hand quilting threads. The binding is made from random lengths of three different navy prints. (I used my new even feed foot to sew the binding on. I had never really had trouble sewing binding with a regular foot (except for one on the bias--see yesterday's post), but I could not believe how smoothly it went on with the new foot. I didn't even need any pins to hold it in place while I was sewing. Amazing!) I stitched the binding to the back by hand and then added my initials/date and a sleeve for hanging. 

The finished size of the quilt is 24 by 41 inches. I didn't wash it, and don't plan to since it's a wall hanging. (And I'm afraid washing could mess it up. I am thrilled that after so much quilting, it is hanging straight and flat!!) 

I finished this quilt at just the right time. The leaves are starting to fall now, and I think this quilt will be just right for my living room for the rest of the fall season--and probably during the coming winter to remember that mild winter of 2012.
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Over my sewing table

Now that I'm learning to machine quilt, I don't hand quilt as much, but it is still my first love and my favorite activity while watching TV in the evenings or just spending time on my own or with family. I miss the contemplative nature of hand quilting, and really need to do it more often. Time to come up with another project to hand quilt. 

I'm linking up today with crazy mom quilts for Finish It Up Friday and with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday.