Under the Sea

Torrential downpour interspersed with tempered rain and drizzle. Since Saturday. Projected to last another week and a half with a slight break over the weekend, maybe. I think life under the sea would be an improvement, at least in some seas. The ones with pretty coral and interesting fish. Weather notwithstanding, I had the privilege of actually giving a quilt to a friend in person. Quilts do a fine job of concealing pregnancy, but Cristin is having a girl in July (a fine month to be born, if I do say so myself), and this quilt is for the forthcoming child who may or may embrace water like her mother.

Cristin and I swam together in college, or rather she swam (quite speedily) and I bounced around on diving boards, only swimming from where I landed in the pool to the edge. It seemed appropriate to use fabric from Momo's Odyssea collection for this quilt, which started as a pile of half-square triangles and turned into this big and little diamond pattern.

I really love the dense straight-line quilting but I confess that the constant turning of the quilt became a bit tedious. The effect is wonderful, the process a little less so. But I also decided to use different colored thread on the back, alternating between blue, green, and pink. I had almost forgotten about this choice, but Cristin -- a recent convert to quilting -- noticed it and reminded me.

The back consists of the large remnant pieces I had after making the front (which used a charm pack plus some extra yardage). I had hoped that my new labels would arrive before I finished this quilt, but alas they showed up right after I finished the binding. It was a mad dash to complete quilts, and I just couldn't wait for the labels any longer. (I ordered my new labels from inked papers -- great shop, fabulous service, wonderful labels....I'll show them as soon as I get a chance to use one.)

I used these sunspots from Amy Butler's Love collection for the binding, as it picked up the red and pink seashells (peeking out on the right) and, in general, made the blues, greens, and browns come alive. It's machine-bound per usual -- and I haven't forgotten about a machine-binding tutorial. I decided it would be the perfect thing to write and post when I didn't have the chance to sew (as in now). I just need to, eh, write and post it....