Finally, after 7 years in the making, Judy’s quilt is totally and completely finished. It was begun in Feb., 2000, just after I retired. The initial fabric purchases were made in the company of my wonderful friend Lorene. The fabric shopping expedition was Lorene’s first outing after her second kidney transplant, and I have never seen anyone enjoy fabric shopping so much!
Here is a photo of the quilt back, showing the signature Crackpot decorative (and fabric-saving) strip down the middle. A little extra piecing sure beats purchasing several more yards of backing fabric and then using only a 9″ strip of it.
Because I always find it pretty scary to stuff a finally-completed quilt into the washing machine, it is a great relief to be able to hang the clean and still-intact quilt on the line, so this is part of the process that I feel compelled to document.
Finally, it is always important to photodocument the absolute last stitch. Here it is:
The quilt will be delivered to Judy and her new husband Peter in Budapest sometime in the next 6 months or so, when time and health permit. There is no way that I will mail it to them, both because I would never entrust it to the postal service and more importantly, because I can’t bear to miss seeing Judy’s face when she sees it for the first time. (She has no idea I have been making her a quilt.)
Wow! This is amazing! Of course I’ve seen the quilt in various stages, and I’ve seen the quilt-on-the-line photo, but seeing on the bed is even more impressive. What beautiful work. And I’d forgotten about the fabric-shopping expedition with Lorene, that’s a great story.