Tah-dah! Look what Irma did. She made me sit down in front of the TV for many hours of hand sewing binding to finish "Picket Fence," a quilt design from the book String Quilts, by Elsie Campbell. I'm calling this quilt "Irma Blew on My Picket Fence."
This quilt has been more than five years in the making.
Not until I was quilting did I find my big mistake - a diamond-shaped block put in the wrong place. At first I was upset with myself. My gosh, how did I pin-baste this whole thing and not see that glaring misplaced block?! But then I remember that quilters call this a humility block because only God, not humans, achieves perfection. Okay. I am humbled.
All the quilting runs parallel with the piecing, and was actually pretty easy to quilt.
I had more of a challenge choosing a binding! But I'm happy with this one which I cut on the bias because I like that diagonal spiral effect.
Here's where I started "Irma Blew on my Picket Fence" in November 2011.
Here's where I worked on it during a retreat with Iowa friends in January 2012.
Here's where I worked on it during a retreat with Florida quilters in October 2014.
Here's my pin-basting adventure in June 2017.
It was in June 2014, when it was my month to be Queen Bee of the Mid-Century Modern Bee, that I asked members to make string-pieced diamond blocks for me. Pictures of the blocks appear in our group, Flickr Mid-Century Modern Bee, and were made by:
Anne Diester - SpringLeafStudios
Elizabeth Eastmond - OccasionalPiece
Carla Fawcett - Carla2
Debbie Jeske - AQuiltersTable
Mary Kolb - MaryonLakePulaski
René Martinez - RenéCreates
Susan Snooks - PatchworknPlay
Carla Timberlake - Lollyquiltz
Cindy Wiens - LiveAColorfulLife
Thank you very much friends, and Hurricane Irma (though this is the only thing for which I owe you thanks!) for making this quilt happen. It was lovely to sleep under last night. Linda
Clearly, the perfect project to wait out the storm! I love the name you have given it. Very appropriate. And a finish! Yay! I don't think you could have chosen a more perfect fabric to bind it. Many years have passed since I've made a quilt that large. I probably never will again! So glad you stayed safe during the hurricane.
ReplyDeleteIt's so pretty and cheerful, Linda! Thanks for including the memory lane in your post. I'm proud as punch to say "and I helped!" Enjoy sleeping under this marathon quilt and the memories attached!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful quilt. It looks perfect on the big bed. I like the "mistake" too.
ReplyDeleteNothing is perfect. Only God is perfect. You are right.
Your quilt looks lovely Linda, and well done on finishing it! Looks like a pattern I need to make to use up all my scraps. Great to see the journey you took making this quilt.
ReplyDeletePerfect name for a lovely quilt, although I can see how your colour choices have changes over the years. Isn't it interesting how we can't see a mistake for ever, but once seen, we can't "unsee" it! I love the idea of a humility block, I have them in almost all my quilts!
ReplyDeleteI *love* your name for it! I don't love the reason for the inspiration or the final finish. I sure do NOT miss all our hurricane days before moving to Colorado. So glad to see you here online and doing well. P.S. That mistake is awesome somehow. :)
ReplyDeleteThe quilt is wonderful!!!! I think the Amish say that as well about nothing in life is perfect...so glad you are safe with the passing of Irma. Our friends in Ocala (we spend winters there) finally got their power on but no severe damage. Whew!
ReplyDeleteWhat an achievement Linda! I had forgotten all about these blocks, and spent sometime wandering down the MCM bee memory lane of Flickr! It looks fabulous on the bed and the humility block is ' perfect' !
ReplyDeleteI too am thankful, you had no real damage or problems during the hurricane. Our family in Rotunda West were lucky (blessed) too! Only some palm fronds down, no loss of power. They have a special needs daughter and 2 small ( 2 and 4) foster girls. So they sheltered in place also. We are so thankful that it wasn't as bad as had been predicted.
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrific finish! And I found one of my blocks! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYeah for you!!! It looks fabulous. The photo where you point out the 'mistake' really shows off the 3-D feeling of the design. I would never have noticed the misplaced block if you hadn't pinpointed it. A huge accomplishment to finish AND domestic quilt such a huge project. I have two queen sized quilts that need binding. Want to do them? haha.
ReplyDeleteThis looks beautiful on your bed, and you did such a terrific job on every part of it (even the "humbling block"). So glad I could be a part of this incredible effort, although I realize it was just a teeny bit in the grand scheme of things. So glad you made it through the hurricane without any major problems!
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is beautiful, with or without a mistake!
ReplyDeleteI love an 'oops' block as I think it adds character - no need for humility be proud and enjoy it! Thanks for linking up to #scraptastictuesday we will be picking winners later in the week thanks to Finish-A-Long
ReplyDeleteI really love your new quilt and all the bright color. Congrats on finishing it.
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