I have about 2 dozen favorite quilts - but this one is right up there near the top. Because it's hand appliqued and hand-quilted, I've spent quite a bit of time with this beauty...
It's boggling to me to think I actually had the patience to applique all of those little circles...48 of them! I think this was during my "dark period"...when I had teenagers in the house...they'll make you crazy - crazy enough to spend hours sewing on little circles the size of pennies...
This quilt was from a pattern called Christmas or Not and while it has a prominent place during the holidays it is never put away...I like the "not" part and leave it out all year long. I altered the blocks, even creating a few of my own - and it was quilted one inch apart - I had intentions of quilting a cross-hatch design but then I came to my senses.
As you can see by the label - it took me TWO YEARS to finish this quilt! Several of my quilt friends made this quilt, too - and theirs turned out beautifully. But their quilts didn't have the one thing that makes my quilt truly mine...for a reason...they don't make mistakes! Look closely at the pic above left...notice the little strip of WHITE above the tan fabric? THAT'S A SELVEDGE EDGE!!! I didn't even notice it until I was quilting that part!!! Like the Amish, who intentionally sew a mistake into their quilts for good luck, I do it naturally, so that must count for something!
"Home is a gift to be opened every day." ~ Mary Anne Radmacher
