Fast Forward to this past November. While packing for the quilting cruise I took I threw in a partially finished kit that I had started at the KAQG quilting retreat in September and finished most of the piecing on the cruise. I was feeling pretty good about piecing something that had only aged a couple of years. It took until a couple of months ago for me to get it ready for quilting and (FINALLY), last week I got it quilted. During the recent Walking Dead marathon I completed the binding.
For once, I am completely happy with the way a quilt turned out. (Crappy picture below)
The original pattern was based on a Thimbleberries design called Christmas Tree farm which does not seem to be on the web. The basic concept was to use related fabrics including one large print (the Longhorn center panel) as the focus to create a very simple quilt with a lot of pizazz. My version turned out to be about 50" x 70" which, from past experience, is the perfect size for one human and a Doxie or three to use for a cozy winter's nap.
Lessons learned ... actually there is only one lesson I learned with this quilt. The lesson is that for every quilt it is good idea to cut your final border fabric an inch or so wider than the final measurement. This allows you to square up the quilt without losing any of the final width so that the proportions remain the same as what you had planned. I must remember this because even long arm quilters appreciate that little extra wiggle room if needed.
Now back to The Walking Dead!
