I have finally begun the hand-quilting on a large quilt that I am making for ME! This quilt is one of those projects that I began about
5 years ago, worked on in fits and starts, and put away for fairly long periods of time while I made other quilts.
This quilt will fit my queen-sized bed, and has 81 12" blocks, each block having 72 pieces of fabric. It's a fairly complex pattern, and one I designed during a very boring meeting in a hotel in Foggy Bottom a couple of blocks from the Watergate Hotel. So I named it Foggy Bottom. There are only 2 different fabrics in the quilt, and for best precision in piecing I did it all by hand -- which I happen to enjoy doing -- lots of 1" squares and HST, and no piece larger than 2". In fact, I took blocks for piecing on several cruises and other trips, so parts of this quilt are very well-travelled. For the quilting, I am doing it in 25 separate sections, which makes it portable. When I assemble them, I will be covering the seams on the back with thin strips of the binding fabric, so the back will have a pattern, too. Now that summer is here, I expect I will be taking the sections out to the front porch to stitch, with a pitcher of iced tea at hand and a small fountain gurgling. (In fact, I happen to have a basket kitted out just for hand-quilting outside, which makes it very handy to stitch out on the porch or on the back patio while the dog plays.)
I have no idea how long the quilting will really take, because I have a nasty habit of putting things aside and knitting a pair of socks or tatting a dresser scarf or making other quilted things. If I have the self-discipline not to do that, I will have it finished and on my bed before Christmas . . .