A Finish for Erica

My first finish of 2011!  Stitching the binding down took a great deal of time, mostly because of the polyester suede-like material being very bulky and thick and certainly not taking a crease.  It was cut 4 inches wide per the pattern instructions, so that was a lot more fabric to deal with.  I started out with a bigger hand needle but was glad I had run back in the house at the last minute and grabbed my pincushion, as I found a smaller needle in it that worked with much more ease.  Wish I'd had a thimble too!  Stitching took place in the van, in the hotel room after dinner until I could not keep my eyes open by 10:45, and then again for a couple of hours the next morning, and continued after checkout and breakfast at my brother's.   While stitching, my SIL Laura and I talked quilting.  I love that!  Her most recent finish was this cross quilt:

Laura saw a similar cross quilt on Sew Mama Sews blog and dug in her stash to make her version.  She just made blocks until she thought she had enough and then set them together. 

Love the pieced backing.  It is a nice large throw size.

She had this professionally quilted, and it was bound with a striped fabric.  Just terrific variety of all the crosses.  Love it!

It took hours longer than expected and I put the final stitch in the binding about 2 PM. I got the two tallest quilt holders I could find (Grant and my brother Ted) and posed Erica's quilt in it's new desert environment.  After spending so many hours working close up on the quilt, it was a lovely surprise to see how good it looked held up (even if I do say so myself!).  Click on the photo for a closer view.

I like the shadow of the saguaro cactus hitting the quilt.  You can see how thick the binding is.

The quilting shows up nicely on the back over Erica's initials.

And here it is covering the top of the king sized bed in Erica's little guest house.  You can see the crosshatching in the border.  That suede really feels luxurious.

She and her friend Christy (on the right) obliged me with a first tryout of the quilt.  Erica said it made her want to put on her pajamas and go to sleep right then.  She was very happy, and so was I, to finally have it finished!

After a few tears at our goodbyes with Erica, Grant and I finally headed home many hours after our original intent.  We were treated to a lovely sunset as we crossed back into California and the worst part of the drive, the L.A. Freeways.  After 16 hours of being in the car over two days we finally made it home at 10:00 PM, exhausted and bleary eyed, especially Grant, who did all the driving.  My sore finger was nothing compared to that!  We will miss Erica bunches but she is sure to be well looked after by my brother and sister in law.  She will miss all her friends and busy social life, but it is a great opportunity for her and we know she will make the most of it--starting a new life in Arizona as a young adult!