FINISH--Nine-Patch Squared

 Well, I managed to make another quilt, setting a record for me at one per month this year !

Below is the top before being quilted.....

It may be my age, but I have developed a love for a more simplified quilt........I think that it has to do with polyester batting.   With bigger piecing (4 " finished squares in the nine-patches, and 8 inch in the frames),I'm leaving room for the poly batting to 'fluff'.  I think that the crinkly look of cotton batting goes better with smaller piecing and closer quilting.

  And I'm satisfying my desire to do some hand-quilting again, although now I do "big-stitch" rather than going for the most stitches I can squeeze into an inch of quilting, like I did when these hands and eyes were young.

Having said all of that, this is my latest finish.........I call it Nine-Patch Squared, and it is not my own original design.  I ran across it in some pages that I have cut out of magazines and catalogs (sorry, I don't save the info).  I save these pictures as ideas and inspiration for future projects.

Back of quilt......same fabric as center of framed squares on front.

Hopefully for the recipient who takes a closer look, the hand-stitching shows up well around the solid frames.  

Deb let me make her this one to trade back for the last one that she took, when I explained to her that the kitty fabrics and little girls climbing trees might have been too 'juvenile' a choice of fabrics for a quilt that is to be gifted to her daughter-in-law.

Quilt info:  Polyester batting , low-loft, by Fairfield (PolyFil), Thread--Coats Bold Hand-quilting thread in Natural....... finished size, approximately 48" x 60" after laundering.  I made the binding finish at around one-half inch because it matches the framed print, and ties it all together.

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AFTER NOTE:  I delivered this quilt to Deb on May 15, 2023.  She was happy with it.  

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A salt shaker spilled in my raincoat pocket, and not realizing that there was salt in the bottom of the pocket, I put my keys in there while I ran errands in the rain.   Now I can hardly get the key in and out of the ignition.  I think that it got salt in it, and it tarnished something or who knows what.  The key feels rough on the end, and even a second key hesitates within inserting and removing.

It's a Honda, and I only have the one key that does everything....ignition, keyless entry.  My local mechanic thinks he could replace the ignition, but a Honda dealership has to reprogram the key unless you know a locksmith that can perform that task.  The nearest dealership is in Franklin, and I DON'T DRIVE TO FRANKLIN.  A new key was over $250 when I bought the car in 2018....I can only imagine the price now.

Stay tuned for update........for now I'm just going to use the car as sparingly as possible, and PRAY !