Bloggers Quilt Festival Fall 2010 - Tennessee & Back

I just put the last stitch in the binding of this quilt! I came home after a busy day with my preschooler who had a field trip and a doctor's appointment. In between those activities we made a stop at the bookstore where I accidentally ordered a caffeinated beverage and I was feeling pretty motivated. On a whim I decided to finish the last side of binding and join the Quilt Festival. My sweet husband agreed to pick up pizza for dinner and was so nice to put our little one to bed while I stitched. 

I started this quilt in the summer of 2009. I was visiting my family in Tennessee and my mom wanted me to try her new long arm machine. She cut a stack of squares for me to sew together and the plan was for me to practice on this simple quilt. Well....I got busy visiting and only finished about half of it. So I took it back to Kansas and finished the top at a retreat in October. Back to Tennessee it went with plans to try the long arm during this visit. Again....too busy visiting so my mom offered to quilt it for me and send it back to Kansas in the mail. She did send it back (I believe it was in January of this year) and since I'd started several other projects it sat in the closet for a while. This summer I took it back to Tennessee and put the binding on while I was there, brought it back to Kansas and have been working on the binding a little at a time until tonight. So this quilt has some mileage! For this reason I've named it Tennessee & Back.

Even though this is a simple quilt, it was a stretch for me. My mom had me just pull squares off of the stack to sew them together instead of laying every square out and making a plan like I've always done before. It was really the beginning of moving towards a more intuitive improv process. It was also fun to play with colors I wouldn't have thought to put together - red, eggplant, lavender, peach, sage, olive. I love the mix and can't wait to put this quilt on my bed! Thanks Mama!

I have to thank Amy for hosting the Festival again. It's so much fun to see so many quilts and read about their stories. My entry in the Spring 2010 festival is here. And thanks to all of you for visiting!