Wedding Gift Part II: 2AM Quilt

And now for the finish. If you haven't already read Part I, you might want to now--or later--whatever you wish. First, the on-the-neighbor's-fence shots, because, well, nearly every one of my quilts ends up there at some point. I wasn't thrilled with the lighting here. It was overcast, but kind of harsh, but it is the best way to show the whole quilt. You'll notice that I meander quilted it (on my treadle). I thought that was best since there was so much going on in the quilt already. I was planning to bind it with a low volume print, but realized that I had enough of the solids to make a scrap binding. 

And here's the back. I couldn't resist a more modern vibe on the back using the leftover solids (plus a Moda feather).

My only rule for the binding was that the colors would be randomly distributed with no color touching a backing patch of the same color. See that monogrammed square at the lower left? It's paper-pieced shorthand for the initials of my niece and her husband. She's taking his last name, and their first names both start with A. How fun is that? I hope it doesn't predict any sleepless nights on the couch for either of them!

Not content with fence pictures, I tried some in the yard. 

(Ooh, see that dry grass back there? Most of our grass looks that way this summer, except under the maples.) This photo is a good representation of the actual colors in the quilt. 

How about a tree picture?

Still not satisfied, I decided to take the quilt to our local university. I'll save those for last--They're my favorites. But first some post-washing crinkly photos. 

If you look closely, you can see my initials and date. But, really, I'll be the only one that knows they're there.

Our university has carillon concerts on summer evenings under the ancient trees on campus..It's a lovely place to enjoy a picnic, watch children play and listen to music from around the world. So I took my quilt with one evening to do some on-location pictures. Here's one of the massive trees:

And with my quilt:

 And three more on a nearby bench:

, 

Now some quick stats, and then I'm done. 
Quilt pattern (resized): Tone-It-Down, Lissa Anderson, February 2014 American Patchwork and Quilting. Original back and monogram
Block size: 18 3/4 inches
Quilt size: 71 inches square; 66 3/4 inches square after washing (about 6 % shrinkage)
Materials: Solids, mostly Kona; various low volume prints.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Cotton Select
Binding: 3/8 inch; machine-sewn to front, hand stitched to back
Piecing Thread: Superior Masterpiece in Granite
Quilting Thread: Superior King Tut Cotton in White Linen
Pieced on Singer Featherweight and Free Motion Quilted on Singer 115 treadle. 

I'm linking this post with Crazy Mom Quilts and Free Motion Mavericks, but they're both on blog-cation, so those links will come later. Also with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday. You can hit the buttons on the sidebar when those links become active.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!