FAL success!

Makes a change for me to write the 'S' word along with Finish-Along 2014!

But I have got myself organised and am now successfully targeting my list of quilt tops - you will find it there UP there ^ with the tabs!

All my finishes were in March - my designated quilting month!  This was so successful I will definitely be having another quilting month where I get my quilting groove on and finish stuff!

So here are my four finishes

 First up my triangles quilt called Night Boat to Cairo in a fit of whimsy but irrevocably stitched like all my labels now directly quilted onto the front of my quilt.   I was inspired by Annabella and her Anna Maria Horner Field Study quilt but I have all sorts of large scale patterns in mine and some glorious Oakshott solids !  This is quilted using three different colours of #aurifil 28 thread and bound with a velvet ribbon - which is a first for me!

Next I finished my Hexalong project - started with Lynne (who has since sold her partially made one)  and Gayle who hasn't finished hers either so although I started this abut two and a half years ago I don't feel so bad only finishing mine now!

Hated my starting blocks but Helen really inspired me - with her gorgeous subdued coloured quilt - to try some different blocks out and it improved.  Then Alison stopped me from choosing a safe layout and here we are with a riot but it works!  The solids are Oakshott again and quilted with feathers in my attempt to emulate the wonderful Trudi!  Quilting and piecing all in #aurifil 50 col 2021.  First time for me binding the edge - well two of them - zigzag style - a bit fiddly as each angle needs to be stitched in place - like corners everywhere - glad in the end for the two straight sides!

Then another ugly duckling - hated my very pink baskets but now love this quilt!  This is an homage to Jen Kingwell and her Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt - in fact some blocks came from that quilt, some from Lynne and Kerry's 500 Quilt blocks book, and a couple from Suzuko Koseki's fabulous book Playful Patchwork.

My innovation for this quilt was the layout but also the velveteen backing - which makes a heavy but luxurious quilt - bit of a pig to machine quilt but I then added lots of hand quilting detail which was much easier than I thought it would be - should have hand quilted it all perhaps!

My last quilt - finished on the Lazy Bum (virtual) Global Retreat is an attempt at modern quilting.  I used (precut) hexies in Kona colours - the background ones I cut myself!  This represents and is called mycelium - those things that pass for roots in funghi!   

Concept seems important in the modern quilt movement and I guess this also represents the quilting community and all the links people enjoy on a local level but through the internet and social media the multitude of links bringing like minded people together into greater communities - those extra links represented by my stippple quilting of the background!   

You see meaningful and quite attractive!

So every time I look at it I will be thinking of you all!

But enough of my waffle!  I am linking with Katy and smiling but I cannot rest on these laurels as I have loads more to finish - and this tally gives me hope that I will.

Here is a link to my FAL list Katy!