Austin's Quilt Progress

With this coming Monday being the deadline for completing my quilt for our Central Florida MQG Inspiration Challenge, I've been spending long days in the sewing room. Since last Sunday, when I pin-basted the quilt sandwich, it's been nothing but quilting and quilting for the past three days.

Walking foot quilting is where I started, quilting most of the quilt that way. I later added some free motion quilting too.

Batting is Quilter's Dream 100 percent cotton. These are the colors of 50-weight Aurifil thread I used, and yes, I changed colors fairly frequently. 

By Independence Day, I was nearing the end of quilting.

With 40-weight YLI gray thread in the bobbin, the quilting shows up fairly well. 

In lieu of watching fireworks - which are not displayed here in The Villages, and I haven't seen in eight years anyway - I finished quilting the quilt by 10:15 pm. It now measures about 60" X 70". 

Binding will take a bit of puzzling as I will align binding colors with the solid colors along the edge of the quilt - clockwise from the top: yellow, aqua, beige, green, pink, pink, blue, blue, aqua, yellow. Full steam ahead to a finish!

Last Saturday I made the first of four patchwork kites that will hang in the vestibule of Amazing Grace's Early Learning Center. This is the smaller size (24" tall X 16" wide) and two more are needed; one larger kite is needed too.

I also made the first 54"-wide X 14"-high valance and went to the Early Learning Center to hang it in the staff room. It looks good, so I'm moving along to make two more of those. The kites, valances and two quilted wall hangings (already made) need to be finished by next Wednesday morning as that's when Joann, my decorator-friend, and I will hang them all... just in time for Thursday's 4-7 pm open house! 

There's no grass is growing under my feet. Linda