Spring 2010 Blogger's Quilt Festival

I am joining the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side. See the button on my sidebar.

Amy asks: Share one quilt, and it's story. Why you made it, why it is special to you, what you learned about quilting/yourself while making it. The quilt doesn't have to be brand new, never seen before on your blog - show what you like!

This quilt has been about 10 years in the making, now that I think back upon it. I saw this pattern in a long-ago quilt magazine and fell in love with it. I'd seen vintage quilts in this pattern and wanted to make my own. So, many 2 inch strips of fabric were cut, sewn together, and cross cut. Each finished square is 1.5 inches across, which at the time I considered tiny. Obviously I hadn't started my Baby Jane in the style of Jane Stickle project yet!

This is a full-sized quilt, so there are indeed many little squares of fabric. I included a few vintage fabrics in there, to bring me a smile, and maybe cause a future quilt appraiser to scratch their heads. I used a thin cotton bat for an old-fashioned look, but the problem is that one must quilt lines less that 2 inches apart. I spent much time machine quilting on my home Kenmore, as you can see in the close-up. However the wreaths in the plain blocks are quilted by hand. I still have to put some sort of motif in the middle, or the batting will bunch up when I wash it the first time.

Why special: It represents a lot of my time. It is cheerful and sunny, and will be the summer quilt on my bed.

What did I learn: Patience!

And guess what - it STILL isn't done! I am sewing down the binding this week. I had saved some of the purple fabric used in the plain squares for the binding, but years later, I couldn't find it. So I am using pink bias binding instead.

Viridian