Monday, March 13, 2017

Weekend Stitching: Christmas in March?

Sunday was another cloudy and cold day, perfect for staying home.  The plan had been to start with laundry, but when I discovered a large puddle of water in front of the washer after the first load it was pretty apparent that laundry was out for the rest of today.  Thankfully that first load was the important stuff we had to have to start the week.  I'm off on Wednesday, so rather than sewing all day, I'll be spending some time with a service guy.  

On a much happier note, there was a finish this week.


Poinsettias
Pattern by Judy Blok for the December 2013 issue
of American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine
Started February 27, 2014, Finished March 8, 2017

Poinsettias is finally finished.  It's far from perfect, but I love it. This was what has recently been called a "squirrel" start.  I found the magazine while cleaning the house, saw this quilt on the cover and decided I had the perfect fabric for it up in the sewing room.  



The fabrics are more than 10 years old, it's Hollywood and Vine from Moda.  I justified starting this quilt since it was using stash fabrics, nothing had to be purchased and I needed a new leaders and enders project.  



Since the center is the focus, I bound the quilt in the same fabric as the border.  The black makes a nice frame for the whole quilt. 



Trudy quilted it with a holly leaf and berry motif, which is best seen from the back.  The extra wide backing is the only purchase I made for this quilt.  I cut it close with the fabrics for the top.  There's not much left of any of them.  

Poinsettias is the first finish for 2017.  It reduces my UFO list from 18 to 17.  It's also on my list to finish as part of the First Quarter 2017 Finish Along.  The next three finishes will be graduation quilts, which are all WIPs (less than a year old).  Hopefully I'll get some other UFOs finished in the last half of the year.  I'd really like to see that count go down.  On the other hand, I've ended the last two years at 17, so at least the count isn't going up every year.  

Linking up with:
Monday Making
Monday Design Wall
2017 Q1 Finish Along

19 comments:

Libby in TN said...

It's a beauty! I love the movement the angled pieces create.

Linda M @ Pieceful Kingdom said...

The quilt is beautiful! I love the backing fabric you chose.

Alison V. said...

This turned out fabulous! I love that the binding is the same as the border.

The Colorful Fabriholic said...

Beautiful! So worth all the time and work it took to make it.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Congratulations on such a beautiful finish! It has been so fun to watch this one grow and blossom.

Denise :) said...

WOW! This is absolutely stunning -- what a beautiful finished quilt! You must be just thrilled!!! The black print you've used is really pretty! Will you keep it out for a while, or save it for the holiday season? Sorry to hear about your washing machine -- that's suck a pain. Hope the repair guy can get things figured out and fixed quickly, leaving you some time in the sewing room! :)

Barbara said...

Well, it's just gorgeous. Love your fabrics, and the border fabric is especially lovely with the rest. Great quilting.

Quilter Kathy said...

It's fantastic Kate! I love it!
See what you can do with an inspiration and some stash fabrics!!?!

Mary-Kay said...

Very nice! I really like the border fabric.

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

Love your total finish---is this a gift or will you use at holiday time??
I love a total finish that makes the count go down--I now have '6' quilts to hand quilt that I have been basting during the races on Sunday--have '2' more to go--but they will have to wait until I can buy some more batting!! and I need a break!!!!!!!
enjoy the moments, diane

Cheryl said...

Beautiful finish! The border grounds the design very well and the quilting design choice is perfect.

Katie Z. said...

It's lovely!

Laura said...

It's beautiful and done in plenty of time for Christmas!

Dar said...

It is very pretty and so glad you got it finished without rushing. Your UFO count is not very large IMHO. Wish I could say I only have 17 or 18 of them. Maybe one day! Hope you get the washing machine problem fixed soon.

Preeti said...

Congratulations on a fabulous finish!!!

maggie fellow said...

beautiful quilt- stupid washing machine- only 17 ufos?- you need to have more squirrel quilts to get the count up again.:)

Nann said...

Thanks for providing a larger photo so I could figure out how the blocks are made. The quilt is lovely. Congratulations on a great finish!

newsurfiegirl said...

Oooh that is gorgeous!

Nicky said...

What a beauty! Thank you for participating in the FAL, on behalf of the 2017 global FAL hosts.