Hooray It's Done!

I am very excited that I finally got this quilt finished up! Not only was it my July goal for the A Lovely Year of Finishes, but it was also one of the longest members of my WIP pile.

I started the 2012 Craftsy Block of the Month around the beginning of the year, and I got really excited about it and made several blocks right away. Then I started something else and the blocks ended up in a box, so the project sat for a while.

I finally pulled it out after a couple moths of sitting, and I worked really hard to get it finished. I omitted a couple blocks from the course (the Dresdens, the drunkards paths, and one English Paper pieced block) and I added a Scrappy Trip Around block. Did I mention I love the finished result :)

This is the largest quilt that I actually quilted on my own, and I was terrified through most of the process. At first I was tempted just to send it off to be long-armed like the last quilt I made. But I decided if I keep putting off tackling free motion quilting then I would never learn how to do it. So I took the beautiful Aurifil thread I got from my HMQG meeting and dove in head first.

I decided to do an all over stippling pattern because I felt it would be the easiest. My squiggles are far from perfect and the stitch length is so scattered, but I love it! I know stippling can make your quilt a bit denser, but since it's going to be used by William, it needs to withstand a toddler :)

It only took me about 3 hours to run out of my first spool of thread. Since it was 3am I had to wait until morning to go and get more :( but I did and got back to work the following evening!

The quilt god must have been looking over me too because literally as soon as I finished quilting my machine warned me that my bobbin was running out! Halleluiah!

Last but not least was the binding. The usual place I like to get fabric from is almost an hour drive from my house, so I was pretty stumped while walking around Joann's looking for binding. Then I stumbled upon the Kona Solids and William picked out the vibrant Kona Sour Apple. :) I love it, and I love it even more that he picked it out.

This Batman block is one of my favorites. Most of the fabric I used for this came from my scraps and stash. I did go out and buy a couple of fat quarters here and there though.

Quilt Stats: 

Size: 50.5" x 51"

Fabrics: Assorted novelty fabrics from stash & Kona bleached white.

Binding: Kona Sour Apple

Pattern:  Craftsy Block of the Month 2012 + Quiltville's Scrappy Trip Around Tutorial
Quilting: by me, stippling/meandering 

Started : January 2013

Completed: July 2013