First Finish for 2017

Last night I attached the borders to my 19th Century Reds quilt. It feels pretty darn good to have something to check off the list so early in the year. Wouldn't it be great if I were to be so industrious in all my endeavors this year?!?

Like I said, it was evening so the lighting is on the darkish side, but I still think you can appreciate this finish. I pressed it after every step and it lays very nicely. With all those pieces in the blocks, I was a bit worried about how it would behave.

This quilt's journey began when I made a hasty last-minute kit purchase at some quilt show I attended. I can only guess that it was perhaps 2010 or 2011. I know I had the kit here in my sewing room for quite a long time. Then in 2015 I took it with me to our retreat, and while there I made all the blocks. Those 12 big blocks measure at 15" - an ample size for sure.

And then those blocks spent the next year and a half folded ever-so-neatly in a storage tub. I'd made a mistake when cutting the reds - I used what was supposed to be the outer border for the sashing strips and inner border. I knew I was going to need to buy an appropriate red for the outer border. I tell you, a little mistake will send a project into storage for a long time. Do you other quilters do this? Avoidance tendencies, right?

I found an acceptable red for the outer border when Terry had her fabric clear-out sale back in September. I was thrilled to find something with enough yardage that I could also use it for the backing. Happy-happy-happy dance!

When we decided that we'd do another UFO challenge for 2017, this quilt definitely made the list. And we drew #4 - it's number on said list.

I took it to Terry's on Tuesday to try to finish the quilt top. I got as far as having all the sashing strips and cornerstones attached, and all the central quilt top together minus the bottom row.

Above is the picture showing what I accomplished on Tuesday. At the bottom of the picture you can see that I have the sashing row attached but not pressed down. One more row would be added here. Below, I have added that last row as well as the inner border.

And now the first week of January is in the books and I have a brand new quilt top and a UFO checked off the list. How nice!

I am so very pleased with how this looks. My "new" outer border fits really well with the rest of the fabrics (even though it's not a 19th C. red). The finished quilt top measures 74"x58" and may very well find itself quilted before year's end. This could definitely enhance next year's Christmas decorations.

Happy Quilting, Friends!