A finished quilt.

I am pretty excited to share a finish with you today.  The quilt is my version of Up, Up and Away by Amanda Jean from Crazy Mom Quilts.  It is another quilt from Sunday Morning Quilts.

 

I used 3" squares (finished) in various whites/off whites/beiges, and different sizes triangles from my scraps.

I thought I would save hand sewing the binding (one of my favourite parts of quilt making) for later, but I did find myself with a few occasions to do hand work and could not resist:  keeping company to a nursing mom, a kids soccer practice... I had everything but 5 inches done as of this morning, and I managed the last few stitches during a phone conference at work (don't tell my boss).  And yes, it was only about 5 inches.  Well, maybe more like 7 or 8...

At lunch time, I took my quilt for a walk and my friend happily obliged when I asked her to be the quilt holder.  We were in a bit of a rush, and there were few spots that did not have a big crowd.  It's our International Busker Festival, and the Waterfront was busy! 

I forgot to take pictures of the back at lunch time, so I did it when I got back home, without a helper.  Wanting something other than a lawn shot, I relied on good old hockey equipment...  You can't tell but I am using a  hockey stick as a weight to hold the quilt.  We have lots of those handy, even in 28C weather.   Crazy Canadians!

I can't tell you how much I LOVE that print in the back.  Of course, I have no idea what it's called.  I have had it in my stash for a while and it is just the happiest print.  I would have had enough for the whole back, but that would not have been as much fun, right?

Here's a couple close ups of the quilting: I chose to quilt this lightly, with only two lines going through each blocks.  I love the texture it gives, without making it stiff.

 

I used Aurifil 50w in a very light pink.  Which I realize you can't really see on the picture.

I had so many choices for the binding... everything I tried looked great.  In the end this orange gingham-type print won my heart.

 

After these pictures were taken, I threw the quilt in the wash for that wonderful crinkly look.  Check the before and after:

 



Before the wash

After the wash



To be totally honest, even though I generally prefer quilts when they are crinkly, I thought this one actually looked better before.  Oh well!  Quilts are made to be used, and I am not going to hold off using quilts just so I can maintain them in their unwashed glory... better loved and crinkly than not used!  

 

Here's a final shot.  I am sure I am breaking pretty much every basic rule for composition,  but I had lots of fun pretending I knew what I was doing photo-wise.

 

 

I am linking up to TGIFF at Quokka Quilts.   It's only Thursday here, but as the song says, "it's five o'clock Friday somewhere"!

 

What have you finished recently?