Isn't it amazing how a quilt changes once the borders are on? For quite some time, I wasn't sure I liked this one. The colors were rather plain and unexciting. But now I do. Quite a lot actually. Thank goodness for red!
It was about 11 or 12 years ago, on a flight back from San Diego, that I noticed a lady in the aisle ahead quilting. Being of a curious nature, I simply had to introduce myself and inquire about her project. And, as usual, I wanted to clarify that said quilter was using the proper batting . . . cotton (of course). Believe it or not, at that time, not everyone knew it existed. 
Quilters know that the best things in life are shared, and this recipe is no exception. Finish with your favorite pie filling and you'll have a winner every time. 
Not JUST blue, but ROYAL blue borders are torn, starched, and waiting on the design wall. However, I thought you might enjoy seeing it assembled first.
Here's a closeup just for Tonya to show some of the hand-dyed fabrics. 
And finally it's baking day using Bonnie's recipe for banana bread. It's also cleaning day. So despite the gloomy weather, I'm hoping to make the furniture shine following my mother's dictum that "furniture must be polished once a week." Of course, if I actually finished those table toppers, the tables would not need to be dusted . . . hmmmm.
Just 1 more row and then I can assemble the sections. Yes, they are 2" squares . . . 1,440 to be exact. A very nice even number. 
After sewing warm prints for so many months, I needed to switch over to cool solids and hand-dyed colors. 
. . .and winning the gold! Even though it's small, it's quilted, bound, and washed. Hallelujah! I finally finished SOMETHING. 
Susan and Diane finished up their string tops and donated extra red and blue fabric besides. 
Even though I'm not Bill Coleman, I think this makes a lovely patriotic image. See what a small group of volunteers can do with a bit of string. Great job ladies!
Considering that there may be a soldier of the feminine gender who has a deep love of purple, I finished this one thusly. 
Do you remember last year when Patti shared with us that wonderful tutorial on Crumb Chaos Blocks or Mile-A-Minute blocks? I was very impressed with her ability to use up so many of her crumbs. 
This is what happens when you try to clean up a project box. Too many need pieces and parts. Finally, I managed to focus on just one project tonight. 
Some quilts need to evolve over time. Not because there are other quilts to make (well okay, maybe a little), but collecting a variety of colors does not happen overnight. The bright yellow square is from the 1970s and in the second row, on the right, is a small flowered print with black background that was left over from an Easter outfit I made in 1979. 
Bit by bit, block units have been sewn together over time and were tucked away in a box . . . or 2. Recently I decided it's time to begin my next American chain quilt. Oh the excitment of seeing it all come together. Finally.
Dear friend Louise was kind enough to take the pre-trimmed sashings, borders, and squares home recently in order to assemble one of the last QOV projects. We're almost done folks!
