Lost in the Haze of Summer…

Remember my Summer Haze king size quilt? It was hanging on a rack in my sewing studio, so I was reminded constantly that it needed quilting. But my health issues prevented me from getting it pin basted, so there it sat, wanting to be finished.

To recap: My daughter wanted a quilt for her new king size bed (Ugh! King Size!) that would coordinate with and enhance the art work in the bedroom. Here is the art work.

It took over a year, but I finally found a pattern and fabric that received the daughter seal of approval. Early 2022 was spent making all the 4.5″ HSTs (an earlier blog covered this process) and assembling them. But then my health issues struck, and I realized recently that the finished top had never been revealed.

I added solid and pieced borders using extra HST’s to finish the top off at king size…this is 100 x 102″.

After waiting months, and trying pinning and quilting a lap sized quilt, which challenged my physical capabilities, I decided that sending it out for quilting was the only real solution. I located a local long arm quilter and dropped off the quilt, backing and batting.

It is so strange to have a quilt of mine be quilted by another, but it is done now! As the quilt pattern is the star of this show, I okayed the long arm quilter to use a cream colored thread. And here it is!

I did the binding myself, at least! While it was strange to have someone else quilt it, it was preferable to a long, indeterminate wait to try to do it myself. I have sworn off king size. They are a challenge just to get pieced! The long arm gal also does basting, so will have her baste my upcoming queen size. Lap size is about the extent of my “finish it all myself capacity” at this point.

Summer Haze is without doubt the most difficult piecing I have done since a triple Irish Chain about 5 years ago. My piecing turned out better than expected, so I am satisfied with this finish. After 12 months of work, it is done! Done is better than perfect!

Sometimes we need to let go of what we “can’t” and embrace what we “can” do. There is no shame in recognizing our limits and finding a workable solution. And no glory in forcing ourselves to do what will hurt or compromise us and have a disappointing outcome.

Happy quilting all!

Lennea