Turning Twenty Around the Block

Another finish!  Well, the top that is.

However, that was my goal when I brought this project with me this year, to make the top.  I will quilt it on my Avanté sometime in April or May once I'm back home in Kingsville.  I've already got a potential all-over design in my head, and yup, it's one of Angela Walters' from the Free Motion Quilting With Feathers class I took on Craftsy.  Still, I may do something a little different in each of the block centres, the squares of brown floral theme fabric.  This quilt is BIG, measuring 82.5 X 98.5".  Notice how it hangs right to the floor at the bottom of our bed, and it's tucked under the pillows too!

At this point, I'm not a fan, nor will I be rushing out to make another.  But that could change once I quilt it.  However, I have enjoyed making three quilts using this similar method: the yellow floral "Sunny Days" quilt, which was a Bunny Hill design, and the red, green and brown "A Dent in my Stash...maybe?!" quilt from that same post, Jan. 14.  That pattern was a freebie at a quilt show in Edmonton from a cute shop in Saskatchewan.  I pulled fabric from my stash only, making myself work with what I had.  It was fun!

Here are the pictures (some from previous posts) of this quilt, which is, as yet, nameless:

The original picture, 1 of 26 projects I've brought with me this winter to complete.

Here are all the pieces set out ready for assembly.

Here are the blocks that make up the centre before cornerstones and sashing on the design wall.  This is a picture I took for my post about value in quilts.  I hadn't sewn the blocks together yet, and row 5 is not in this picture.

Here it is on the ironing board (which has just given me an idea for another Aha moment post! Hint: notice the 3/4" board on top of my ironing board?)  But I interrupt myself.  This picture was showing the Book It method of construction, and how to set up the paired blocks once seams are sewn, ready for pressing.

And here is the centre, complete, but for the sashing and cornerstornes.  I used the red for the four cornerstones, and 16" strips of all of the other fabrics sewn end to end to make the sashing.  The final 6.5" border was optional, but I chose to do it, since I'd already bought the 2.5 yards of fabric it required, and also because it would make it fit our queen-sized bed better.

Oh!  A plug for another LQS:  I bought the 20 fat quarters, the border fabric and the book at Cotton Patch Quilt Shop here in Sarasota.  Laura and Tim have a great shop, with three wonderful Bassett Hounds.  Each year on January 1, she has a fat quarter sale, and it was at one of those that I bought the fabric and book for this quilt -- I'm going with maybe only 2 or 3 years ago?  Not as bad of a blast from my quilting past as SOME of these 26 projects I've brought. . . .  The fat quarter in the "Sunny Days" quilt and the Bunny Hill pattern (I love her stuff) were from yet another fat quarter sale of hers.  Okay, I'll 'fess up: the "Sunny Days" quilt fat quarters were from Jan. 1, 2008 sale.