"I Want To Talk About Me" - - -

"I Want To Talk About Me" will be finished soon! I am delighted that I am closer to the end of this quilt than the beginning. It's been a long road -

Here is the original pattern - I don't remember the name -

I found this quilt pattern when we were in Pigeon Forge, TN, at a baseball tournament.  I fell in love with the block of the month pattern and completed the blocks in stages. First, I eliminated all the pink from the quilt. No matter how much pink is in a quilt, pink makes it feminine and at my house that does not work. Next, after I made several blocks, I started eliminating elements that made the blocks look messy. Next, I eliminated the words - didn't need the quilt to speak. Then the real designing kicked in - I wanted this quilt to be a snapshot of my life. So starting with March, I changed each block to reflect my life at that moment. I'm really happy with the results.

Next, the quilt sat in a box for a really long time as I could not figure out the sashing. The pattern calls for plain sashing which does not interest me. So about 2 1/2 years ago, I was at a stitch-in at Lana H.'s home and brought the blocks along hoping for some inspiration. Luckily Lila S. was there and pointed me in the right direction ! (Thanks again, Lila!!!) She suggested a checkerboard and you can see the results -


Now that I have the top completed, how will I quilt it? Because of the shifting checkerboard sashing, I could not figure anyway to stabilized the top without quilting the sashing first. I don't think I've ever quilted the sashing first. I stitched the checkerboard on the diagonal only between the blocks and left the outer checkerboard till later. I changed the layout to only have 2 interior blocks. They will be the hardest to quilt since I can't work any bulk to the outside borders.

So, quilting the blocks begins. I will work from the center out, block by block, using Gutermann 100% cotton thread in white and navy. I am estimating 8 hours per block. Then I'll do the outer checkerboard border, blue border, sleeve, label and binding.


Closer to the end - - -