First Quilt Finish 2020

Yup. You read that title right. It's what, July something? I've lost track. This is just how the year has gone. And more than half is gone. Which, now that I think of it is maybe a good thing. At first I stressed out over not seeming to accomplish much this year. But I did do some things. That sail boat project for one. And a pillow project with my granddaughter way long ago before we closed down. And I have been doing a relaxed-pace online workshop. And I have a couple of projects that are slowly getting there. And I've finally made peace with the slower pace. I'm not pushing myself, but I'm enjoying doing just a little something each day. I don't worry about whether I have something to share. And wow, it's all coming together! At the beginning of last week, I had 4 (!) tops ready to quilt. Now, the timing is not great. We have entered the dog days of summer (never mind that Google tells me they don't start until July 22), and quilting in 90+ degree weather is not ideal in the warmest room of our house (with the AC on).  But I have been limiting myself to just a bit of quilting each day, and I have a finish!!

This is from blocks I made during the Rainbow Scrap Challenge of 2019. If you want to see close ups of all the blocks, you can click on the RSC19 label on the sidebar or at the bottom of this post. It's been so long, I'm not even sure which colors are ones that were officially part of RSC and which I subbed in. I know that I did not use purple. I focused on the colors in the background fabric which I had purchased before the year started. There was purple in the fabric, but I did not have enough of the kinds of purple I wanted to use. I can't recall if black was part of the colors for the year, but there were black dots in the background so I used it. Most of my photos are post-washing because my pre-washing photos were off-color. They are better anyway, as there was no breeze!

Closer:

Signature (with washable marker before washing--bad lighting)

After washing (marker all gone--love it), and I will probably be the only one to know my signature is there:

And here's the back. More dotty paisley.

Close up.

 I had to piece the backing, but I had enough to sew three pieces together with matched seams!! Probably not necessary, but it was fun to do. Do you see them?

So let's just back up for a minute, and then I'll show you some yard "glamour" shots--the best I could do since we aren't going anywhere much these days. Before I could put this quilt together I had to trim the crumb blocks. I wasn't really sure how big I wanted to make them, and during the course of last year, they tended to get a bit bigger. My final plan was to have the blocks finish at 5 inches. Here's the pretty pile of trimmings.

Then I had to figure out a layout. (Sorry, the picture rotated, but you get the idea. I didn't over think the layout. Just sprinkled the colors around.

All basted and ready to go.

And then, the quilting. But what to do? I decided to let the quilt tell me what to do. Well, either I didn't listen or didn't hear it correctly. I thought it wanted wavy lines with some crisscrossing. I started with the sashings with two lines that wobbled back and forth crossing each other. Then I began on the crumb blocks, making two REALLY wavy lines that crossed over somewhere in the block. It needed more quilting than that, so I made some less wavy lines along side of those. I wasn't sure of the first set, but listened to neither the quilt nor myself and doggedly (it's the dog days of summer, remember?) kept quilting in the same pattern. And soon I was done. 

But. I didn't like it. At all. I waited until the next day to see if I'd like it any better. Nope. Instead of making me feel all cozy, it made me uncomfortable. And if it was doing that to me, I couldn't give it to someone else and make that person uncomfortable. 

So I spent two afternoons picking out stitches on 16 lines of quilting--those really wavy lines that cross each other. I (weirdly, maybe?) sort of enjoy ripping out quilt lines. Maybe it helped that it was 90 degrees out and humid so staying in was appealing. I enjoyed some home renovation shows on TV and picked away. I replaced those two lines with one less wavy line, and all was right. Aah. It just goes to show, if something bothers you with your quilt, it's probably worth it to undo and redo. Just compare that photo with some of the close-ups farther up the page and see if you agree with me.

 

Now that that little confession is out of the way, let's see a few "glamour" shots. In the evening sun--please ignore anemic grass. It rained today, and that's all greened up again. These are pre-washing.

Another angle:

Front and back:

And a swirl shot. (I need some practice.)

Some stats:

Fabrics  A variety of scraps from more than 40 years of quilting. The background is Mexicali Fresh Beaded Paisley from Benartex.

Batting Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 

Thread Superior-- Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; King Tut in Temple for quilting; Treasure in Old Lace for handstitching on binding. 

Binding 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back; scrap pieced.
Size Pieced: 46 1/2 by 60 1/2 inches; Quilted: 46 by 59 1/2 inches; Washed: 43 by 55 1/4 inches.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for walking foot quilting.

 

How about a porch photo?

And finally, a deck photo:

In a normal year, this would have been donated through the Hands2Help Challenge. My year had a shaky start, and I never signed up. I will probably donate this quilt to my favorite "local" organization: The Mother and Baby program through Margaret's Hope Chest, except that I haven't checked to see if they are accepting quilts right now in this different world we're living in. Perhaps I'll hold onto it until I have a batch of quilts to send. We'll see. It will go somewhere sometime.

I'll be linking this post with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop, with Angela at So Scrappy for Scrap Happy Saturday, because, you know, RSC (even though I'm not participating in this year's round), and with Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap on Sunday.

And stay tuned. I finished quilting another RSC quilt this week and did the machine part of the binding today, so there will be another finish to share next week. 

Please, please, please stay safe, and if you live in the U.S., keep wearing a mask, wash your hands, physically distance, and do whatever else you can to turn this country's viral mess around. And keep seeking justice. And keep quilting, but that generally goes without saying. (The other things have to be said a LOT.)

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.)