"PLUS", a finished quilt for L + T

It's a finish, ladies and gentlemen!  Finished AND delivered!

This quilt has been in the making for a while.  It started as a bee block for my Bee mate Chelsea back in February.  I loved making this block so much that I could not stop at just one.  I made two for Chelsea and 30 for me.

Love these!

Soon, there was a quilt top...

Really love this shot.  A great use for a hammock in the winter!

The quilt top sat all spring and summer as an unfinished object.  For no good reason I might add - I already had the backing picked out and the right piece of batting ready to go. But the September sew-in of the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild and an upcoming trip was the push I needed to get this done.  

Many hands make light work.  Thank you, MMQG ladies...

This quilt was destined to a newly married couple living in North Carolina, but first, it was coming with me on a trip to Victoria, British Columbia where I would be meeting up with relatives who would be able to deliver it safely to the newlyweds back east.  Having procrastinated all summer, I had some serious work to do!

I debated for a while on how to quilt it.  In the end, I simply outlined the outside of the "plus" signs, leaving the signs themselves unquilted, and used a meandering for the low volume background.  I was pleased with the texture, and I know it will be even better once it is all washed and nicely crinkled.

It was my intention to finish the binding on the plane, but I had underestimated the time it would take to hand stitch a double size binding.  I was only half way done by the time I stepped off the plane, and I had to hand out the quilt about less than 48 hours later.  And this was not the only thing on my agenda.  There was a get together with some MQG Victoria members, a fancy dinner at the Empress hotel and, small detail, that marathon running business, that was going to take up some of that time...

So when my host took me sight seeing, what did I take with me?  Why, an unfinished quilt and a sewing kit, of course!  And a camera.  I had one window of opportunity for the photo shoot, and it was going to happen, finished or not.

So even though this looks like the picture of a finished quilt...

A close up reveals that there is still work to be done:


Binding held on by WonderClips!

The photo shoot was an adventure to say the least.  While my friend was trying to find the perfect place to take pictures of the quilt, he took me to a lake with a small dock that was just a short walk away from the road.  As we got closer to the lake, we saw a few sunbathers on the dock, but pretty soon, it became clear that these people were all in their birthday suits!  Unbeknownst to him, my friend had taken me to a "clothing optional" place - apparently well known in the community!  Needless to say, we had to go elsewhere to take pictures.  Although, come to think of it, these would have been quite unique...

In the end, just before the sun started to set, we found a beautiful spot at the Goldstream Provincial Park.  For an East Coast gal like me, those trees were such a stunning backdrop for a quilt... and much better than a bunch of naked guys, I might add.

 

And I can't resist adding just one of the pictures I took of those impressive trees...

I did finish the quilt that night, and managed to take one picture before I went to bed I must admit, I really felt like keeping it on the bed to sleep...

I got news yesterday that L + T received their quilt and they are very pleased with it.  This is a fun an adventurous couple, and I know they will get a kick out of the adventures I have had with this quilt!

Edited to add - linking up to TGIFF at Persimon Dreams.