Josie wanted a queen-sized bed quilt and although I’ve never done one that large (twin throws have been, to date, my upper limit for size) I was super-excited and I said YES! We worked together on choosing a quilt pattern that would be visually interesting but at the same time restful. Some of the patterns we looked at, like the split-rail fence and various interlocking chains are visually interesting, but perhaps too visually “stimulating” when you are in your "oasis." Unconsciously, the eye wants to follow those labyrinths of pattern and you end up going over and over them, which can be less than restful. So we settled on a four-patch pattern which is has a very grounding presence. And then Josie & I collaborated on colors & fabrics too, settling on a lovely mix of batiks, both new and vintage calico and paisley, all in very soft lavenders and blues.
After finishing the quilt top, basting it to the backing and batting, came a humbling moment. I have always done my own machine-quilting but this was the first queen-size piece I’ve done and after one seam it became apparent that no amount of basting and rolling was going to get this thing through the opening of my trusty old Singer home machine. I want to give a shout-out here to Joan Ayers at North Star Qwilts. Joan is a long-arm quilter who took the finished quilt top, batting, and backing and machine-quilted it together in an all-over meandering pattern on her ginormous Nolting Pro 24. It looks AMAZING and Joan was really great to work with. Joan is a volunteer finisher for Quilts of Valor and others who are doing donation quilts as well as volunteering for Beacon Hospice in South Portland. She’s a member of both the Cobblestone and Casco Bay chapters of the Maine Quilt Guild. So if you have UFOs that need to be put together in a timely fashion, contact Joan! And tell her I sent you. :-)
I am just unreasonably proud of my binding.
When the quilt came back to me from North Star I put on a lavender calico binding – machine-sewn to the front, turned and hand stitched to the back. Although all that hand-stitching is time consuming I like to use this method because it's sturdy, and the beveled edges are give the quilt a really nice "finish." I’m so pleased with how it came out and was thrilled when Josie sent pics of it in its new home! I think it looks even better with handsome Max on it, don’t you? :-) 
