My lovely niece Hannah is getting married in July. She lives far away, and I don’t get to see her very often. I was very touched to learn that she still uses a quilt that I made for her when she was a little girl. 
I still had a lot of that fabric in my stash and thought how easy this would be!
When I looked at the fabric selection again, I was less enthusiastic. The colours were still nice, and the fabric was in excellent condition, as my stash lives in a windowless dark room under the stairs. But I no longer have every fabric from the original, and it all looked a bit boring and dated and not very feminine. These are young sophisticated working women in their mid-20’s, so I definitely wanted something more contemporary without being overly girly.
After a little trip to the fabric store and mixing and matching with other choices from my stash, I finally had the good mix that I saw in my “vision” of Hannah’s quilt.
The two groups together:
This pattern is a variation of a Victorian crazy quilt. Here are the little components shuffled and ready to assemble into blocks.
And the first completed block:
The finished quilt top at Stage 1:
The pattern instructions are complete at this stage, but I’m going to make some changes. It is 40 inches x 60 inches now, and I want it larger, so I’m going to add 5-inch borders all around. Then the abstract blocks will look like they are “floating” on a green background.
As usual, I am behind schedule. It’s been a topsy turvy couple of years for our family and our house. My sewing room has been re-purposed (again), and I have become a sewing nomad, working in different areas of the house wherever there is a flat surface. ;-)
I am also very slow at sewing. I always chase perfection, but I realise now that is the first step on the road to madness for me. I’m trying to be more relaxed now, do my best work and enjoy the process without stressing over it. Especially as the wedding draws near, I realise that FINISHED really is “better than perfect”. But it’s going to be as perfect as I can manage. :) Happy Wedding, Hannah! I hope you like the quilt. XOXOXO
More later as the finishing stages are completed!
Happy Quilting! :)
