The original pattern is from the book Contemporary Classics in Plaids & Stripes. I did change the border just a bit. You can see the original design here.
It's quilted with a pantograph from Urban Elementz called Hearts A Flutter. More photos of the individual blocks are at the bottom of this post.
The online quilt group I'm in called Stashbusters has a yearly challenge to finish your UFO's - unfinished quilt projects. Separately, but in coordination with the UFO Challenge, is a monthly random number draw.
We keep our own list of numbered projects. Once a month a number is drawn and you pull the corresponding numberi UFO from your list to work on (actually two numbers are announced so you have options if you have more than 12 on your list). It's a fun way to motivate you to get your quilt finished or, at least one step closer to completion. It really does help you to stop procrastinating on projects you might have a reason to otherwise avoid.
I put this one in the top 12 because it required a lot of hand stitching applique pieces and I hoped the extra push might inspire me to work on it. As you can see, it did!
I knew this one would come up sometime during the year! I could feel myself wince a little when I looked in the bin and saw how much hand sewing there was still left to do. The edges of the pieces are all turned under. I used the starch and freezer paper method rather than needle turn the shapes. Same look as needle turn but I find it a much easier way to prepare the pieces to attach to the top by hand.
I had barely begun to work on the border years ago when I put it away. I kept looking at the quilt in the book and I really wanted to change the original design (so the vine wraps around the entire outside border). I didn't have enough green vine fabric left, only a couple of pieces measuring 2" to 3" each.
When I looked at it again after all this time, I realized if I continued the red inner border to the edge of the quilt, it would break up the vine just enough that my little pieces would work. Happy knowing that the quilt would look a lot more like I wanted it to, I didn't dread getting back to it.
Putting a project aside isn't always a bad thing. But, next time, I won't wait quite so long to go back and try and figure it out! That's why I'll continue to keep a list of on-going projects. So I won't get so wrapped up in current ones that I forget about them.
The random pull for January was #9. It's red & white and I knew that even though folk art quilts don't appeal to me as much as they used to, it would be perfect display for Valentine's Day every year. When I saw it and read #9, I couldn't help but think about an old popular song called "Love Potion No. 9" (if you click on the link, a separate window will open to the You Tube video).
Now it's time to get busy with February's project number. I already have ideas on how to change the original design on that one a tiny bit too!
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