"And Another One Bit The Dust"!

Another one bit the dust, meaning I finished my quilt for the small quilt challenge for, wait for it, "April".  LOL  I am only a couple of months behind.  The nice thing about our quilt challenges that Kathy Tracy  gives us for our on line group is, that you can take as long as you want to get them done, if it takes a year, it takes a year.
Drum roll please............................

It took me a long time to get this one started, I had a couple of different ideas, then when it came down to actually starting, I came up with this design.  The name of the block is Contrary Wife, which proved very much contrary in every way.  After I got the border on, it just needed something extra ............ so I made embroidery flowers to give it some bling. 

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Now for the bigger reveal...........yup, I finished my 56" x 56" wall quilt, The City Stitcher Quilt Collection designed by Janet Miller.  It has 13 different blocks, 12 blocks set around a field of patchwork flowers.

It took me 15 months of  machine sewing, hand embroidery, hand quilting each block, then joining each block separately.  It also took 4 months of procrastionation just to get the binding done.  Then, two days of sewing, I finished the binding.  It is just the getting stgarted that slows me down sometimes.

 I joined each block separately because I didn't want to hand quilt this full size laying on my lap, to warm even with air conditioning.   I was surprised how well the back turned out, and had I known it was going to turn out so well, I would have done my backing in all one fabric.  But, to work on my "stash", I did my backings in different fabric.   I figured it is always going to be hung on a wall, and it's mine, I guess I can do whatever I want to do!  As far as I know, there are no quilt police out there that are going to come to my house and give me grieve that I should have done it a different way.  LOL

Second drum roll please..............................................

I still have to sew on the hanging sleeve, but I couldn't wait to share my quilt.  I will add a picture of the back later, along with a picture of it hanging on my designated wall in my living room.  

My next project?  I am making a Valor Quilt for a Veteran's Center, and hope to get it completed by end of August.  They have a yearly function every September and hopefully I can keep focused and get it completed.  Which means, I need to get it sewn by the end of this month!!!!  The hand quilting part is a breeze and can be completed in about a week-ish.  

Stop back, maybe I will have something to show you on my next project............ Until next time, keep your foot to the "peddle" of your sewing machine:)

Sharon