Well I managed to make it just under the wire. Â My Celtic Solstice is finished. Â I am so glad.
When someone asked this fall if I was planning to do the challenge again I thought I would never have time to finish a quilt up..but slowly working a few minutes each day, I managed to tackle my Celtic Solstice.
Sometimes when I finish a UFO I sit back and wonder what happened that made this quilt not make it to a finish line sooner. Â On this quilt..I didn’t ask that, I knew.
It started with my sewing the pieces together wrong. Â The pieces with the green chevron are inverted. Â That was a little disappointing. Â I was too lazy to rip them out…and frankly, I didn’t care that much about it. Â Then when I laid it out on the table, I was so disappointed. Â I thought my color selection on the points was poor. Â I thought my neutrals had gotten too dark and that the points wouldn’t POP…plus, I thought I should have had a more consistent blue..there was just too much variety I thought.
Well…Once the challenge came I thought I would just trudge through the project just to get it off the UFO list. Â I didn’t have much hope for it. Â In fact, I planned to just give it away.
Here’s a blogger confession that most readers don’t realize: Â Fast forward to the second or third week of the challenge. Â I took a picture of my quilt early in the week…like Monday. Â Then I wrote my blog post that would be published on Wednesday. Â I showed this picture.
Then Monday night and much of Tuesday I sewed on the quilt. Â By the time the Wednesday blog post was seen by all of you, my quilt had went from that….to this.
Then Wednesday I read the blog comments and someone told me that some of the blocks were twisted. Â WHAT!?!?! Â I didn’t realize that the blocks all needed to be a specific direction. Â UGH.
Now what do I do?? Â I wasn’t ripping it out. Â I showed Hubby and he said who cares-I don’t notice it.
So I went with Hubby’s attitude…who cares…most people won’t even notice it. Â So I am keeping this quilt for me….not because I don’t like it….not because I am embarrassed by it. Â I am keeping it because it’s humbling. Â I’m keeping it to remind me that things don’t have to be perfect or even follow directions to still have function and to still be beautiful.
At the new house I am hoping to have the beds in quilt that are a bit according to the season. Â This one reminds me of summer so I ended up using a “Dream” batting that Ila had sent me. Â Thanks Ila…you’re the best!! Â It seems a little more light weight than my typical Hobbs or Warm and Natural. Â It worked great in the machine.
I coupled the batting with Maxi Lock’s Rum thread. Â It’s a bit gold. Â It was easy to pick thread for this quilt.
The backing was PERFECT for it. Â It’s a piece I picked up at Country Threads closing sale-it’s a Jo Morton print.
All in all, I started out thinking this challenge would stink for me this time around as I wasn’t excited about my project. Â In the the end, I couldn’t be happier!
My friend Nell who started this whole thing with me last year has lots of progress on her Tumalo Trail. Â I know I would LOVE to have one of these this far along!! Â That quilt is on my bucket list!!
This was lots of fun…let’s do it again next year. I’m sure we’ll all have a Bonnie Hunter UFO project by next October. I am just hoping it isn’t Grand Illusion for me.
I think your quilt has worked out lovely. I would want to keep this one. Well done for getting it finished. Good luck with the next one.
Well, I think it is just perfect. I have just finished putting my blocks together of CS, maybe borders in the next few days ! Just love love love your house posts ! And maybe 2015, I will get around to a crumb quilt, cos I love yours ! ( I have been gathering fabrics for a long while now !)
I’ve got to say that I look forward to your/our Pre Bonnie Hunter GetRDun Before The New MQ Starts Challenge! I started your challenge last year and got Easy Street done and on my bed before Thanksgiving. And this year I was able to get a bunch of UFO’s in different stages completed! Celtic Solstice in two different sizes, Trip for Two (one of these), and I just finished binding an Easter Turning Twenty, and the binding is almost finished for a wall hanging! Thank you for these challenges!
Your Celtic Solstice turned out great! I am no farther on mine than I was a few weeks ago when I joined your link-up party. I love your border fabric.
I love your Celtic Solstice and as you know, we are the only ones that sees our boo boos everyone else sees a beautiful quilt. Thanks for sharing !!
Yea Jo!! I have a sign in my sewing room that says “Finished is better than perfect”. Reminds me that rather than tops sitting in a pile until I custom quilt them I can do an overall design and get ‘er done! Or as you did stop waiting to fix the blocks and put it together. Nice work! Now you can move on to other things.( Like packing, painting, cleaning, moving! Keep inspiring us, Jo. Thanks!
I think your Celtic Solstice is beautiful. I can’t believe how much you did in such a short time! Easy Street was my first mystery and I was drawn in because I loved the colors. I wasn’t that fond of the colors for Celtic Solstice but since I’m not confident enough to change it up not knowing what the outcome is ahead of time, I trudged along. Well, I LOVE mine. The pattern is amazing. I am so glad you finished yours and will be enjoying it on your bed in your new home. Soon, I hope. :-)
Jo, your quilt is STUNNING!! It is going to be perfect in your new house, absolutely perfect! So sunny and fresh…and new! Like a brand new day!
Have a great day and keep on stitching!~P
Your quilt turned out fabulous! I love Hubby’s attitude. Too many other things in life to get worked up about.
This challenge is so much fun. Thank you for hosting. I’m looking forward to next year’s already–really I’m hoping I won’t need to participate but I’m not kidding myself at all. :)
Nell’s Tumalo Trail is looking good. That’s my current leader/ender project.
I think it turned out beautiful done your way. Quilts aren’t supposed to be perfect and usually if we don’t tell our mistakes no one notices. I think the colors are very pretty together too. Keep up the good work love it when you share pictures.
I think your quilt is beautiful and perfect! Can’t wait to see the seasonal quilts on the beds in your new house.
Good for you! its perfect! Our favorite quilt was one of the first ones I ever made and it has lots of cut off points, but it is the most loved and that’s all that matters. Your quilt is going to be the star of that bedroom!
Your Celtic Solstice is beautiful and done! Mine is still in the boxes where I left it last January! Someday…..
Awesome! I agree, finished IS better than perfect.
I love your new quilt, but I can’t believe you lay them on the snowy ground to take pictures. I know taking them outside turn out the best, but I don’t think I could do that.
Hope you and your family have a great holiday. I enjoy following your blog everyday.
It turned out great! You’re to hard on yourself. I’m glad you are happy with it now.
I see the inverted blocks now that you point it out. I like how the circles are more prominent with your design choice. Enjoy it in your new home!! I am sleeping under mine, too. I took my Celtic Christmas with me to visit grandchildren for Thanksgiving and in the hotel for our Anniversary. Thanks again for the fun Link-up to get us motivated!!!
I think your quilt is beautiful. I got all of the parts done early this year, and it is still a pile of parts. :(
Your quilt is beautiful! I love the blue border and the backing! xxxx
I think your quilt was beautiful, I am not far enough along as a quilter to even tackle one with a lot of mixed color in it, I just order precuts and find and old pattern I can use them in. I will get there,,,, maybe.
Ruby looks nice and warm with the snow on the ground.
It looks great – I’m glad you’re keeping it! I love your choice of colour for the border.
I think your quilt is beautiful! Seesh–I for one had to really look hard to figure out the wrong placement(s). I haven’t even come close to finishing mine and who knows how many “twisted” blocks there are. But I’m NOT going to seek them out.
My brother-in-law is a wise man…he told me and my sister that if you don’t point out the mistakes most people don’t even notice them! I love your quilt…it is beautiful and it is your creation!
I think your quilt is quite stunning and didn’t notice anything out of place.
I saw a great quote the other day: Quilters don’t make mistakes, we make variations! It looks super, only the meanest person would want to critique it and those sort of quilters are not worth the energy! You can be very satisfied that you have finished a project – have a lovely Christmas!
Absolutely gorgeous! Love your colour selection and your special touches (creative opportunities!)
Your Celtic Soltice is BEAUTIFUL! i’m still trying to figure out how some of the blocks are “twisted”? That blue border just makes the whole top sing. Isn’t it terrific how finishing something up can magically change its whole look? What a fabulous finish – and I’m glad you’re keeping this. It really is a treasure.
Your CS is very pretty and I love the layout you used. I played along with this mystery too, but mine is not finished.yet. Maybe 2015. It will look beautiful on your bed.
I missed the linkup but enjoyed the challenge again this year! THANKS!