Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Sunbonnet Sue Gone With the Wind


This is supposed to be the year for finishing.  So many unfinished quilts just tucked away here and there, and they need to be completed, and this quilt was at the top of the list.   The keystone effect on the top picture makes the finished quilt look crooked - it quilt is actually straight on the sides.
I began appliquéing Sue in 1994 while we were still living in Tumwater.  It took me six years to get the blocks finished, and the quilt constructed.  Originally, the pattern showed blocks sticking out from the side of the quilt, making a "dramatic" edge  - hills and valleys, or Vs.  I began hand quilting this quilt in 2000, taking it with me to Mesa in the winter, and quilting on it rather sporadically during the next five years, and coming back home each year to sit on the shelf.  When we sold our little place in AZ, the
quilt was truly shelved.  However, since this is the year to finish things, I retrieved it, and, with the help of niece Cheryl's recommendation about a "beanbag" bottom lap hoop from Barnett's (internet), I have actually completed it.  However, one sad thing - or not - When I would finish quilting in the evening, I would just lay the quilt, hoop and all, on the floor by my chair, not realizing that part of an edge piece was over the floor vent for the furnace.  The result was a pretty ugly scorch, which would not come out.  The result - the quilt got squared off - no jutting-out Vs, and a simple binding to finish it.  I am not really a wonderful hand quilter - just too impatient to get on to the next project, I guess.  Nevertheless, it is finished!

2 comments:

Judy said...

She is absolutely charming, every single block of her! This was an important quilt to finish for two reasons: 1. You have so much time invested in it. 2. Because of the end result. Well done.

Ann said...

Hooray! And very cute. No wonder you aren't spending as much time on the phone these days.