Alora's MSU quilt

Merry Christmas!

Today I FINALLY gave away two quilts I've been working on for quite a while.  You've seen bits and pieces of them as I've been working, but now I finally get to show off the whole thing.

First I'll show off my hubby's favorite: Alora's MSU quilt.

My niece, Alora, is a HUGE Michigan State University fan.  She also has just one quilt from me, so I decided to change that with a late-night design inspiration.

I had this pieced and into a top in record time, but I was really excited about it, so it was easy to keep going. 

I hit a small bit of trouble when I found out her bed is a double, not a twin, but since it was already rather wide, those checkerboards on the side fixed things right up.

I showed this sneak peak when I had finished quilting it a few weeks ago, and it's the only photo close-up of the quilting (oops!).  Most of it is in the ditch or 1/4" on either side.  I wanted to keep it simple since there's a lot going on in the quilt itself.

And finally, since Christmas was hosted at her dad's house (my brother-in-law), the quilt got put to use immediately!

Can you guess she was really excited?

She's spending the night tonight with her cousins and had to be told no, she couldn't take the quilt with her to their house!

I also gave away the Star Flower quilt this afternoon, but will save that for another post.

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday.  I have to work tomorrow (Monday), but then have the rest of the week off thanks to rolling holidays.  I plan to work on the Whig Rose applique and HOPE to get it all sewn together so I can start the new year with all my 2011 UFOs completed.

Happy quilting,

Katie

PS If you're looking for a good dip-appetizer recipe, try this Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip.  It gets a bit runny, so use a big plate, but it's REALLY good!  (Sorry no photo - I put it together at my parents and didn't have my camera along.)