12 year UFO now complete!

A few months ago I blogged about a log cabin quilt that my mom started (for my husband-to-be at the time... we've now been married over 12 years) ages ago.  She had the top done and it was basted, but she never completed the quilt. I "inherited" it a while back, along with the extra fabric she had from the blocks.  I'm proud to say that I've finally finished it and it's on my way to my brother as a (slightly belated) birthday gift!

You can read more about the quilt here.... but the short version is that her method and my method are not the same, and I thought I'd be better off undoing some of what she had done and finishing it up in the way I knew best.  I ripped out about a million little stitches (from her basting), added fabric to the back, then basted, quilted and bound this guy.  It's about a twin size and I think my brother will love it! 

As far as I know, Mom has only made a few quilts, all a traditional log cabin block.  I love how she arranged these so the lights and darks make a diamond pattern.

A few close-ups of her blocks.

I added some 6" strips of fabric going in both directions on the back (from the leftover she had given me), to make the backing big enough once I had taken hers apart.  It was exactly the same size as the top and I wanted to give myself a little bit of wiggle room.

I mentioned a few days ago that my sewing machine had been in the shop for a few weeks, which was very sad.  However, it turned out not to be all bad.  After the timing was fixed (I didn't know it was broken!), I was able to actually FMQ something without the stitches skipping or the thread breaking every time I went over a seam.  You can see from these pics that my FMQ leaves a LOT to be desired... the lines are not smooth, there is no rhyme or reason to it, it's more dense in some places than in others.... but I was going for a very large meander, just enough to hold it all together.  I used a dark blue thread and it was easy to get "lost" when I was quilting over the blue on the front.  There were several times that I couldn't easily see where I had already stitched and my squiggles got closer than I wanted.  

For a quilt this large (twin size), I knew I'd pull my hair out before I got a beautiful, consistent pattern FMQ'd on there, so I just let myself have fun.  It was great practice and I feel more confident about trying something a little "prettier" on the next (hopefully smaller!) quilt I make.  Overall, I'm happy with it, and I know my brother won't be grading my FMQ skills!

I bound it with more of her extra fabric - the small polka dots used in the front blocks.  The color scheme was inspired by the uniforms of the New York Yankees (white and dark blue at home... gray for away games) so it only made sense to take a picture with the hat!

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Linking up with: 

Confessions of a Fabric Addict for "Whoop Whoop Friday"

Amy Lou Who for "Sew and Tell"

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~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~