A long time coming

It has taken me what seems like ages to finish quilting this quilt.

Granted I kind of went off the quilting boil for a while.

Like completely off.

The summer was so lovely my quilting mojo totally disappeared.

I stopped reading quilt blogs and magazines and replaced it with other types of reading.

I read books that made me cry. A lot.

And books that had me fanning myself. A lot.

Ok, an awful lot.

And generally I took a complete step back from quilting world.

As the weeks went by and the weather turned from summer, to autumn, to  I-can't-remember-the-last-day-it-didn't-rain, I started thinking about the room at the top of the house again and whether I fancied venturing in there. I told myself I'd get excited again when Anna Marie Horner released a new line - which she did. I would sell my right kidney for any AMH stuff (well, not strictly true, I only have one anyway so slight exaggeration), especially as I thought Pretty Potent was her best collection ever. And then Honor Roll came out and (sorry AMH) for the first time ever I didn't rush to buy it.

It was at that point, with not even my AMH enthusiasm barometer working, that I did wonder if my passion for all things quilty had permanently dried up.

I hadn't missed the incessant call to purchase this line of fabric or that latest gadget.
I hadn't missed book blog tours.
I hadn't missed being told what I must have or use
I hadn't missed the whole commercialism that seems to have taken over and shaped much of quilty blog world in the past few years

However, I've missed creating for the sake of being creative.
I've missed interacting with other like-minded individuals and so I have re-emerged into quilt world.



I have slowly, slowly been quilting the above quilt.

I used so many different threads, it almost became a crash course in which threads my machine liked and which it didn't.

I used just about every brand you can think of, including a thread from a collection from my husband's aunt who passed away ten years ago.

With an Aurifil 40wt in my bobbin, the thread which hands down quilted the most beautifully, was this one.

It's a Sulky 40wt. I'm not sure what line it's from but it produces a lovely shimmer to the quilting.

I've slightly darkened this image up so you can hopefully see the glean that comes off the thread.

All the other threads I used played fine, it was just for me, the Sulky 40wt was the stand-out star of the whole long process.

With so much stop starting as I changed threads, there were an awful lot of threads to bury once I finished quilting. I think I underestimated just how long it would take.

Then it was on to binding.

And finally it was done.

On the down side, the image doesn't really capture the wonderful texture the quilt has from being quilted so densely.

On the plus side, I don't think the image captures the rain pouring down as I took this picture.

I have no doubt my opinions will change but just for the moment, it's my most favourite quilt.

So what's next?

Well as you can imagine, with a blog as prestigious as this one, I am inundated with requests to collaborate on all sorts of things.  I was particularly thrilled to receive this email.

Not wishing to dilute the authenticity and integrity of my blog, after much soul-searching I've decided to decline this intriguing offer.

Sorry Paul.

Meanwhile, now I am emerging from my quilt funk, I have ideas a plenty for more quilts, as well as a pile of Soy Amado quilt blocks (hello Canada, I haven't forgotten you) that need sorting out.

I am back.

I think.