Adrian's quilt

At long last, Adrian's quilt has been finished and sent to its final home.

Way back in August, I was out quilt shopping with a friend and my niece.  The niece, after overcoming her shock at what a quilt shop actually was, asked me to make her a quilt and picked out a pattern all by herself!  With some guidance, she also chose fabrics.

I added purples and more fabrics from my stash and such to round out the quilt after realizing it was going to be kinda flat with just these fabrics.

I jumped right in soon after the final fabrics were chosen because I didn't have any projects needing immediate attention.  (And because, chances are, I had some that would need attention sooner or later and I needed a good opportunity to procrastinate!)

This process seemed very reminiscent of making my Twirly quilt earlier this year!  Making those blocks prepared me well for this one - these larger pieces and just one curve per block were cake by comparison and went together quickly.

The layout was next.  Keeping all the bicycles right-side-up was a bit of a challenge, but I managed.

Then it was time to add some borders.  The pattern called for them originally, but I opted to wait to purchase fabrics.  Sometimes you have to get the whole center view before deciding what it needs.

The turquoise with what looks like paint splatters was one of the first fabrics she chose and her favorite color is turquoise, so it seemed right.  And I chose the purple for a small inner border and binding to provide contrast.  Also, purple is MY favorite color, so it was fun!

And, at long last, I got it on the longarm last week.

The quilting isn't easy to see here (and I forgot to take any close-ups later), so you'll have to squint and imagine a little.  I went back and did loop-de-loops in the light areas.  But I was on a roll and just kept quilting!

Binding was next and that allowed a Gilmore Girls marathon of about 3 or 4 episodes.  And then the label.  Why that is the hardest part is beyond me, but it always seems the worst.  But, like so many of the other finishing steps (long seams to put rows together, borders, binding, etc.), I think it's just that "almost done" feeling and you want it to be actually done!

Anyways, I sent it to work with my hubby last week, as her step-dad works with him, to get it to her mom's house.  I was worried if it went to her dad's, there would be a fiasco.  That marriage ended badly and there are still random odd feuds over ridiculous things and I didn't want a quilt for her bed at her mom's house to be among them.

And there it is!  I see now the bicycles are upside down, but my quilt holder was whining about the cold and having to do this job and probably 43 other things I couldn't hear because I was too far away taking photos!

She got it late last week and loves it!  I knew she would - she had a hand in the process - but it's now keeping her warm on her bed.  I had hoped to get it to her sooner, but I'm not sure you all know how very good I am at procrastinating?

Quilt name: Trading Places

Designer: Saginaw St Quilts

Size: 62x81 (ish - I didn't measure and made it bigger than the original, so math...)

Made entirely by me!

The quilt made from these leftovers was longarmed today, but I think I'll save the end of that quilt story for another day.  In the meantime, last Friday I completed the last three blocks:

Juliana 1

Juliana 2

Sofia

There are quite a few quilts out there right now, waiting for their turn to be shared, but also waiting to make it to their final destination.  And since I don't want to spoil too much (some you've seen more of than others), I'm going save them for another day.

Not much sewing has happened other than these blocks in the past week.  It seems like there has been a lot, but piecing backs, sewing down bindings, etc., has taken up a chunk of time (and thread!)...

And finally, because my husband forbade it but made me make three trips to the store last week for things for him, I bought a Santa hat for the cats.

Freddie looks annoyed, but after four tries, he finally sat still long enough for the photo.

Finn, on the other hand, after four tries, flopped on the kitchen rug and gave me this face.  I can't decide if he's plotting my demise or trying to fake his own death.

Gabby has not worn the hat.  I would like to keep all of my limbs, thankyouverymuch.  I showed it to her.  She politely sniffed it and then politely pawed at the hopper of crunchy foods again.

And with that, this post, that took an hour longer to write because I kept getting texts and phone calls (after a mostly-silent day, it's like they KNOW!), is finished!  Time to wind down and get to bed because I have to work in the morning!

Happy quilting!

Katie