A January Finish

The end of January already, and it turned out to be a rather productive month.  The quilt I started for my friend is now finished, ready to be gifted as soon as they can safely descend from their mountaintop home (the warmer weather has made their old logging trail impassable due to mud).   Anyway, here it is, looking not so different from the top posted earlier, just finished.

Machine quilted with the simple meandering leaf and loop design we learned in our first 2012 FMQ Challenge lesson.  Still one of my favorites because I can actually keep the meander going for a bit before running into a corner or border!

The piano key borders are ditch quilted, no close-ups, my free-motion was pretty shaky on those! At least the thread blended well with the darker colors so they're not too obnoxious (or obvious) I hope.

The batting was a cotton Pellon from JoAnn.  Shrinkage was more than acceptable in my opinion, and I won't use it again.  Unquilted top was 51 x 70; finished and washed once in cold water delicate cycle and partially dried on delicate cycle, the finished size is now 66 x 48-3/4".   Four inches in length on a 70 inch quilt seems out of line somehow.  Especially since it wasn't quilted heavily. Live and learn, I guess.

Til next time, sunny days and happy quilting!