This is my masterpiece. I've spent probably about 16 months on this -- AND it's almost finished! I just have to finish putting the binding on it. Originally, this sampler was going to be 12 blocks and a lap quilt, so I could use it for watching TV (forget that I already had an M&M flannel quilt and now have the completed snowman quilt. I wanted something gorgeous.)
My mom heard about this new quilt shop in the area from a friend and convinced me to go. I went along for the free lunch (hey, don't you have to pay a cabbie? I'll take my payment in the form of a lunch.) I found the most incredibly gorgeous 30's fabrics at Cotton Candy. I bought probably about a dozen different pieces (in very small quantities.) "What are you going to do with that? You still haven't done much on that seahorse quilt!" was my mom's reaction. I said I'd make a lap quilt, even though it had been about five years since I actually finished something. So after hitting Cotton Candy, I knew I needed some more colors. I went to Joann Fabric and used my discount to get more fabric. A few weeks later, my mom wanted to go back to Cotton Candy. I agreed, mainly because I was almost out of a few of my fabrics. When we were there, I got what I needed and then I bought even more colors. "You might as well make a full bed size quilt now!" my mom said. Hmm....not a bad idea. That one I made five years ago isn't that great. I got really good -- I learned how to rotary cut and could knock out a block in a few hours (well, unless we count that honeybee block that took 9 months to sew all the little petals onto!)
I finally finished the last block in March 2003, ten months after I started. From the beginning, I thought "rainbow borders" would look awesome on this. "Are you insane?" my mom said. Um....I can't choose just one! I'd still be stuck in the store if I had to choose one. Instead, I decided to put a different color on each side of the block. It may not show up as well in the pictures, but they are surrounded by pink, blue, purple, and green borders, with little yellow squares in between. (Even my mom had to admit she was wrong -- it looks terrific!) I had planned to sew the borders on over spring break, but I wanted to sleep. I had one lousy day to sleep in that week! My mom, on the other hand, thought I was going to be putting borders on and woke me up. I was not happy. I got started late and started messing up enough that I decided I better quit for the moment. It sat on the side until about June, when my boss, Kim, made some remark after my mom brought her latest project in to show off. "When are you going to bring something in for show and tell?" "When are YOU?" I shot back. We agreed to have show and tell with some of our projects the next time we were both in. The following Sunday, I took most of my quilt, in about 15 pieces, in. Kim loved it. Nancy saw it too and she made several requests for the patterns, pictures, and she wanted to see the finished quilt. They also recommended a someone I could go to to have it quilted. (I decided that might be a good idea after my mom said something about "You did such a good job on this. I'd hate to see you butcher it by quilting it yourself." Good thinkin', Lincoln!) Within a week, the quilt top was completely assembled and I took it in again. This time, I talked to Claudia, who agreed to quilt it for a fraction of what I was being quoted elsewhere. The design I ended up with isn't quite what I originally planned on, but it's beautiful. I got the quilt back two weeks later (for a lower cost than I was quoted!) and Claudia spent the next several days telling me what a good job I did and how the colors go together perfectly. Now I just have to finish the binding and it'll go in for the final round of show and tell!
The other notable aspect of this one is that last March, my mom, a quilting buddy of hers and her daughter and I went to a local quilt show. Marian, my mom's friend, said that next year we should all enter something. Think I can win anything with this? It's unanimous that this is what I should enter!
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Anita's Quilts: My mom's qulits page. I learned most of what I know from her.
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