Seaside Rose - A Finish!

One thing that has come out of my blog is finding out that I am really making progress on several quilts.  So far this year I have made 2 sample quiltlets on my Longarm,  7 other quilts, 2 placemats and 2 hotpads.  That's not bad, considering the first quilt after the samples was finished at the end of March.

So this Seaside Rose has been a long time coming.  I first blogged about it here and then I did a WIP post here, and then my last update on October 31, was here!  So today, as you can see from the top picture, she is DONE!  Washed her, threw her in the dryer for ten minutes, then laid her out flat and tugged her into her rectangle shape, and left her overnight.  Mmmm!  I love all stages of making a quilt; I really do, but one of my absolute favourite parts is running my fingers over a finished, washed, dried quilt.  The texture:  sumptuous.

So yesterday afternoon, after Joe and I went on the Kingsville Christmas House Tour (wonderful; our two favourites were the Woodbridge House B&B and a "cottage" right on Lake Erie with a jaw-dropping view) and after I had gone to Pelee Island Winery to have my glass of wine and pick up a bottle to take down to a sweetheart neighbour who has kept an eye on our condo, I packed up the quilt, hauled up my beach chair from the basement, grabbed my iPad, put on my gloves and headed on down to our beach.  Had there not been a gale-force wind, I might have sat, snuggled up under her for a few minutes, to get my last Lake Erie fix until Spring.  I did stand and drink in the view for a few moments once I had packed up, however.

I will be taking this quilt down to Florida to lie on the bed in our guest room I think.  I might have it on our bed for a while though!  There is a TON of quilting on it, and I was worried it might be stiff, but that has not proved to be the case after washing.  I'm also really pleased that the 50" or so of binding that is not the check fabric blends in quite unobtrusively.  There wasn't enough of the check fabric, perhaps due to the fact that the pattern wanted me to sew in a strip of fabric, then cut away triangles, and appliqué the remaining sawtooth strip down by HAND on top of the twill stripe.  Uh...no.  I did two different methods of creating this sawtooth or prairie points borders, the first of which wasted some fabric.  So that might explain it.  I found the yardage in this kit very skimpy, unlike that in Brrrr Park, which is about to go on the Longarm, just needs the backing to be finished creating.  It might just end up getting quilted on my Bernina in Florida, as the countdown is on, and sewing time limited.  But I digress.  Again.

Here are some other shots of this most beautiful quilt of which I'm very proud.  I will be bringing her back north in the Spring so she can go into our Kingsville Quilt Guild Show in September.  No, there is no snow here.  And no, Lake Erie is not frozen.  The current temperature of the lake is mid-40s according to Joe's app.

If one didn't know the temperature at the time I took this was below freezing, one would think this a perfect spot for a picnic!

As a nod to our American neighbours 40 miles to the south of us on the other side of the lake, who celebrate Thanksgiving this Thursday, here is a picture I took with my Fall colours post in mind:

I had meant to have this picture at the top of that post, but completely forgot about that intention.  I took it October 6, mesmerized by the riot and splash of colours in their display.  This is Lee and Maria's Market, a great spot to get fruits and vegetables, as well as some flowers, all locally grown.  I am continually attracted to, mesmerized by, intrigued with colours, especially those in Nature.  Their display was truly breathtaking, and although this picture does not do it justice, I still find the impact is stunning.  Off to my sewing room!