A Finish!

I am always so pleased when I put that last stitch in the binding of a quilt.  There's such a sense of satisfaction.

Next, I lay it on the floor and measure it, then toss it in the washer, then into the dryer, then measure it one last time.  Truly done then!

I started this quilt in mid-January both because I didn't have anything else in the works and because I was on color overload.  Maybe it was the brightness of Christmas, or maybe it was seeing quilts with a jumble of colors.  Whatever the reason, I wanted to make a calm, soothing quilt--and prove to myself that it could be just as beautiful, though in a different way, than quilts with lots of colors.

This has been a hard quilt to photograph.  The photo above was taken inside with a flash; the ones below outside.

I used JoAnn Soft 'n' Crafty batting, 3/8" thick, 80% cotton/20% poly.  I used thread I had on hand--it was probably rayon--then ran out and bought a spool of cotton.  I put pins in the blocks that had cotton thread but couldn't tell any difference between those and the others after the quilt came out of the dryer.  Whew!  That could have been close.  I should probably be more careful about thread from now on. 

The measurements of this quilt were crazy.  And how about square?  How is it one starts with square blocks and ends up (after quilting) with a quilt that is off by 1/4" to 5/8"?  I squared the corners as much as I dared but I suspect the quilt does not yet have precise measurements.  No matter:  it will never be in a quilt show to be evaluated.  After wash and dry it measures 60¾" x 78½".

At one point during the quilting it occurred to me that this quilt looked like it could have been mass-produced and sold in a big box store, probably because of the plain diagonal rows of stitching in the center of the blocks.  I convinced myself that no, it couldn't, because of all its imperfections. 

I love the texture these lines created and the puffiness between the stitching.  Those should create lots of air pockets to keep the warmth in on a cold night.  I used masking tape from corner to corner for the first stitching lines, then quilted the other diagonals "free-hand," so to speak.

You can't really tell it from any of the photos but the binding is about ½" wide.  I thought about an even wider binding but decided this was the best width.  You can read about my wide binding woes here.

And here it is with the early cherry blossoms.  It will have to wait for use till next fall unless it becomes a picnic blanket this summer.

Finishing this quilt was my goal for April so I'm linking to One Monthly Goal - April Finish Link-up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty.

I'm also linking this post to
> finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
> Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday (TGIFF) at Celtic Stitches
> Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

I hope you have a great weekend!

--Nancy.
.