Mountain Day At Last!

At long last, "Mountain Day" is a quilt!  Spurred on by a friend who was in the same class with me (Spinning Stars by Augusta Cole) at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival three years ago, I have brought my quilt to completion... just as she has done. I used an alternate setting pattern for my blocks. Don't we all need friends like this, ones who call us into action through their own good works? I quilted this scrappy treasure with a lovely gold colored thread. The inspiration for this quilt was an annual occurrence, "Mountain Day", during my college years in Montpelier, Vermont. You can read about that happy memory here; it was quite an event. I can still recall that joy today... having this quilt is a tangible souvenir of those glorious mountain memories, complete with blazing color from the countless Maple trees that dotted the mountainsides. To me, setting the blocks to form peaks upon peaks reminds me of those long-range layered views.

Mountain Day ~ 60" X 72"

Mountain Day ~ the back. Those woodland trees are a blaze of color!

Close up of the quilting on the back of Mountain Day. Timeless Maple Leaf panotgraph.

Hannes... the world's best quilt model; he looks great on every. single. one!

Life is Good!

Working In Reverse

Seldom am I inspired to buy a BACKING fabric for a quilt that is not yet complete, particularly a scrap quilt. My normal mode of operation would be to complete the top and take it along with me to the store to find a fabric, usually one on sale, one that will fit the bill. As you probably guessed, that was not the case this time. I saw this fabric last week at my LQS and let out an audible gasp...I knew, immediately, that it is THE PERFECT PIECE to put on the back of my Mountain Day quilt! I obsessed about this fabric, not buying it immediately (it's new and wasn't on sale), but by the time I arrived at home I called the shop and had them hold it for me; I had to have it. Yesterday I bought it, what I needed plus the remainder on the bolt! I now own enough for the backing plus  borders and binding (should I decide to put a border on it); I still don't know. There's no need to worry about that yet, I have many more blocks to finish up, but I did pin it in place to audition it beside the scrappy blocks and it will work... so, what do you think, to border or not to border? This one is coming together in the most curious way, not the way I had planned it at all; but, this time, working in reverse has proved to be even better!

Life is Good!