a finished quilt.... 

Tells a story.  This one brings back memories of cutting those pieces on Eleni's last ABM trip, of how optimistic I felt, how everything was maybe, finally swinging into place.  The way she picked up her legs with a spring that made me catch my breath.   So delightful.

The colors are bright and playful.  They fit perfectly with this jaunty pattern and contrast nicely with our broken down barn and its thorny wall.

Needs a home.  I didn't know when I started this quilt whom she would belong to.  I just wanted to make something with Schmidt's re-released Katie Jump Rope collection, and chose to work in other Schmidt scraps to make it more special.

Now I know she belongs to a woman, a Kate, who helped Eleni have a little more peace on her last day with us.  And I only just realized as I sat down to write this post that the name connection was there all along.

Isn't perfect.  I'm pretty sure no quilt is.  The imperfections inherent in the Chic Country quilt pattern actually grew on me.  The shifty points make the quilt feel more... vintage?  usable?  friendly?  At the moment, I wouldn't make the winding ways style any other way.

I am being gentle with myself these days. 

Katie's Playground quilt is backed with stash fabrics, two by Denyse Schmidt and one Cottage print from Anna Maria Horner's newest line.  I quilted with simple, childlike loops and bound mostly in wasabi yellow.

A finished quilt always makes me feel wonderfully accomplished and ready for something new.  Here's to finishing well!