Dell and June Quilt - A Finish!

And it has happened on Friday too!  This is also one of my goals in the first quarter for the 2015 Finish-Along with Adrianne at On the Windy Side. This is #2 on my list.

This quilt wasn't planned.  I had so much fun, and such a pleasing finish with Scraps of Calm, the May quilt at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework's Scrap-a-Palooza, and, let's be honest, still lots of blue scraps, that I decided to make the September 16-patch quilt.  I had thought I would most likely donate it to the seniors' residence across the street from our Kingsville home.  Then, I spoke with my Uncle Bob, my dad's brother, who is in his 80s, and is himself living in a seniors' residence in Alberta.  He told me how cold it gets in his room due to the glass in the windows not being of good quality.  My aunt told me that he likes to sit in his chair and look out the window, and that is where he feels the draft.  I immediately thought that this quilt needs to go to him.  ASAP.  He likes blue, too.  So it was meant to be.

Finished!  Laid out on the lawn before washing.

I stitched in the ditch between each block vertically and horizontally, forming a grid, using a grey Aurifil.  Then I did cross-hatching by stitching diagonally through each of the dark squares using a blue variegated Sulky Blendables thread in one direction and a Madeira polyneon forest green for the other direction.  This left about a 3" space unquilted in the light squares.  Well, I decided that was too big of a space.  I didn't want any poof there.  In actuality, it would have been fine, as I used Pellon's Nature's Touch cotton batting.  I've used this a couple of times and have been very pleased with the drape, even when quilted heavily.  Still, I knew something needed to go in the light squares.  So I did a simple swirl, travelling diagonally from one light square to another, and alternating the direction of the swirl with each row.

Here is what it looked like at the half way point

I didn't care for the dark green thread being so strong in the really light squares, and debated about ripping it all out.  Then I thought nope, this quilt needs to be done, needs to get into the mail, and needs to be being used, so hopefully the thread will sink in once it's washed and be less noticeable.  I loved the swirls effect however!  I decided to switch to a silvery grey Madeira polyneon for the last half of the swirls, and really really liked the result.  What a great thread.  I had to back my top tension off to 1 though for it to play nicely with the bottom Aurifil.

If you check the top picture, the swirls are not bothersome, and that was before washing, so I was already happy.  Yesterday I stopped in at Alma Sue's Quilts after yoga to buy some lots more of the Tula Pink $5/yard fabric (think backings), and I also found a navy solid for the binding for this quilt in that same section.  Love that! I stitched the binding down by machine this time.  I'm still not that good at it; even though I glued it down on the back à la Sharon Schamber, I had to go back and fix about six spots.

Here it is all laundered and cuddly!

Don't worry; I kicked off the spider web before tossing it over the viburnum hedge

The back:

Folded up:

The signature secret in pretty much every quilt I make:

Can you see his initials?  There's a B easily visible on the right in a light green square. The J is more difficult to see, but it, too is on a light green square, but on the left.

Quilt Stats:
Size:  46.5" square (it shrunk 2" between quilting and washing, and that is even after I pre-shrunk the flannel, voice of experience here)
Pattern:  September Scrap-a-Palooza 16-patch quilt
Fabric: scraps from my stash; backing is a Henry Glass flannel; binding an unknown cotton solid
Threads: Sulky Blendables 30 wt; Madeira Polyneon 40 wt; Aurifil 50 wt

Another shot of it spread out; hmm, the front grass is a lot drier than the back!

I am linking up with TGIFF this week hosted by From Bolt to Beauty, such a cool name for a blog!  And also with Confessions of A Fabric Addict, and with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday, the first time for this linkup for me. And, last but not least, I am linking this finish up with Cynthia, since it is her pattern for her new linky party, Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.