FINISHED QUILT: Autumn's Paintbrush WARNING: Picture-heavy post !

Hooray for another finish.......praise the LORD

   As I mentioned in this previous post, the inspiration for this quilt came from two sources:

1.  While browsing quilting blogs, I ran across a quilt that used assorted solid-colored fabrics as the background for some star blocks.
2.   I had this little pieced tree block stuck up on my design board staring down at me, and inviting me to enlarge upon it's design.
   

So, I purchased what I considered 'autumnish colors' from the selection of Waverly solid-colored fabrics at our local Walmart, and figured out how to redo that little tree block in a 12-inch size.  After making a rough sketch on my graph pad, I had my design that should finish around my standard favorite size or 60 x 80 inches.

For the trees themselves, I used mostly charm squares that I had, occasionally cutting out a piece from my stash when needed.

When the top was completed, I started putting together a pieced backing, and I wound up with a whole separate design.  So, technically, this is a fully reversible quilt.

When it came time to bind this quilt, I felt that the tree side needed a wider binding due to the lack of a border.   I cut strips between 3 and 3 1/4 inches, winding up with about a 3/4" wide binding.  I chose a solid-colored fabric that was NOT in the top, but went with the Fall colors on both sides.

I had hoped to use organic wavy lines for the quilting, but because of the solids in light and dark hues, the quilting just did not look good.  So, I went back to my old stand-by, meandering, keeping the design a bit bigger than I usually do.

This is the second quilt that I have made with the Pellon 80% cotton/20% polyester batting (with scrim) that I bought in a 9-yard roll from Walmart.com.  I have laundered both quilts, and am totally satisfied with the performance of the batting.

Truthfully, I am OVER-THE-MOON happy about the outcome of this quilt. 

 I still don't know who I am going to gift it to, if that's what I do with it, so I didn't put a label on it yet.

The wind was not cooperating with me when it came time to take outdoor photos !

The porch photos came after trying (rather unsuccessfully) to get photos of the quilt while it hung on the clothesline.  (I wanted to be  able to see the trees in the woodline for a background.  Turns out, they're not color-changed enough yet anyway.) 

 I'm glad that I changed locations.....I love these shots.