"It's Not Over 'Til the Fat Lady Binds"

 ...or sings. Or both—because when I finally bound this quilt, I sang!

This quilt was part of a mystery quilt that the guild I (Teri) belonged to was doing—about 15 or so years ago. There are many details about the project I don't remember, like who designed the pattern, but I can remember many things that I learned about myself doing this project.

First, I am not very good at mystery designing. I remember waiting a few months to get started so that I could see a bit of the design coming together before I chose my colors and fabrics. I had decided to do a scrappy quilt, using only fabrics from my stash. I succeeded in completing the quilt without buying any new material, but I learned something else about myself.

Primary block design
I enjoyed picking the reds and greens from my stash.

Second, I don't like random, scrappy sewing. I have to plan my random scrappiness. It took me so much longer to arrange the blocks because I didn't want the same fabrics to be adjacent, or even very close. I would put the blocks on the design wall and rearrange them repeatedly, and every time I thought I had gotten it, I'd see two identical reds, greens, or neutrals right next to each other. And when I moved one block, there would be a domino effect. Good thing I like puzzles. 

Secondary block design
I allowed myself a but more leniency with the neutrals. 

I remember that I had bought this paisley design in the border and the corresponding fabric that makes my star centers, so I wanted that to be the starting point of my color choices. The trick was to pull together the blue and yellow greens, as well as the orangey and bluish reds. I chose a few fabrics with both colors to help, and the overall effect seems to work. 

So third, I love color!

I made this quilt when I was a piecer, long before I was pulled to the fabulous world of slow stitching. This quilt was filled with points! I am not sure I'd have the patience for all that precision work today. I might have to hand-piece it!

I finished the top and sent it off to a long-arm quilter. Helping her design how to quilt it was fun. Then I got it back and put it on my to-do list. I even had the binding chosen and cut out. All I had to do was trim the quilt edges, sew on the binding, and stitch it down. But it moved from my sewing room in the basement to my new room upstairs, and finally, to my new home. How absurd is that? 

Fourth, I guess binding is not my favorite part of the process. And maybe I am a great procrastinator?

But at long last, I can sing. I have bound the quilt, and miraculously, I even still like it! 

I do love the scrappy look of this quilt, even if I know it was "plandom" and not random. Every time I look at this quilt, I see another design jumping out at me as these blocks interact. Hooray for a fun finish!

I have yet to determine where this now finished quilt will live. It does look happy on my couch, just waiting for an afternoon nap on a gray day. Maybe today.

The moral to this story: Don't wait 15 years to bind your almost-finished quilts. Just think of all the love this quilt could have given over the past decade and a half!

I'm sure you can imagine what my husband said when he walked in the room to see me perched on my tip-toes on a bar stool to take a picture of the quilt. I'm certain it was nicer than what he was thinking!

Maltese Inspiration

Two main islands, Malta and Gozo
make up the country of Malta

Certainly a major benefit to living in Europe, is the opportunity to travel, and my husband and I (Kara) are trying to make the most of it. Last fall, we knew we wanted to plan a trip somewhere south and decidedly warmer than Germany in the winter. I scoured the travel blogs and came up with Malta for our end of March trip. While it wouldn't be hot, it would be warmer than where we were, and it looked like there were a lot of interesting things to do and see. When I told people where we were going, they usually looked at me with a strange look and said, "Malta? Where's Malta?" 

As with any place that either Teri or I visit, we always look for inspiration for future projects, and Malta was no different. What stood out to me was that no matter what type of stitching we might do—appliqué, landscapes, embellishment, or piecing—this tiny country had inspiration for it all. Please join me as I take you, through pictures, to the islands of Malta. 

When we walked into our rental—a renovated Maltese farmhouse—the first thing I noticed were the amazing tile floors. One of the bedrooms was filled with beautiful tiles, not just on the floors, but on the walls as well.

In the kitchen

It's hard not to see a quilt!

This will definitely be a block we make someday.

Notice the Maltese Cross in the upper left.

Rose of Sharon style.

Wouldn't this scene be beautiful done in either appliqué or embroidery?

There are so many ways this peacock could be interpreted in fabric.

Malta and the neighboring island, Gozo, are packed with stunning landscapes and interesting rock formations. If you are a landscape quilter, both islands are a feast for the eyes. 

St. Peter's Pool

The color of the water was stunning

Note the person on top for scale.

More of the amazing Mediterranean!

We visited this sleepy fishing village early in the morning.

The island of Gozo is famous for its bobbin lace. While we didn't get to see any lacemakers in action, we were still able to view some of their work.

So many bobbins!

Some of the different designs.

So delicate!

One of the places we visited was a museum built on the site of an original Roman townhouse. I was surprised to see that the Romans must have been quilters! Or, more accurately, some of our quilt designs may have come from their mosaics.

Tumbling Blocks.

A closer view.

English paper piecing?

That this Roman mosaic is still intact is mind blowing.

By now, my husband is quite used to me stopping in the middle of our walks to take pictures of flowers. I think there might need to be a "Flowers of Malta" project.

The color of these beauties is so intense.

These could be found blanketing the landscape.

I love the grey tones in the leaves.

Such beauty in rocks.

I can already see these done in silk ribbon.

Little yellow puffballs.

Malta was far more beautiful than I could have imagined—stitching inspiration was everywhere! Hopefully, you have enjoyed coming along with me on my visit to Malta and have been inspired by what it has to offer. 

Now, I think I am going to go and stitch one of those tiles...

Windy City Wrap Up

Once again, we travel to Chicago to view some of the quilts that I (Kara) couldn't fit into last week's post. The quilts I have to share with you are all over the map in regard to genre, so I was pondering how to tie this post together. It came to me that one of the "threads" that binds these quilts together is that the maker was inspired by something that pushed him or her to create the quilt. However, what inspires one quilter may not inspire the next in the same way. 

We, as quilters, come in all different shapes and sizes; we all have different likes and dislikes. That is why going to a show—such as Quilt Festival Chicago or Houston, or the AQS show in Lancaster, or even a local quilt guild show—offers something for every quilter's taste and inspiration. Here are just some of the amazing quilts (of many genres) at Quilt Festival Chicago.

Spring at the Watery Place
by Jin Dong

Old Denim Square
by Noriko Nozawa

The Ant's Square Dance
by Diane Tenney
quilted by ladies in Indonesia

Mamaw's Puzzle
by Valli Schiller

If You Give a Friend a Fat Quarter
by Madelyn Bell
quilted by Susan Corbett

Saying Goodbye
by Shelley Landon
quilted by Yong Hui Torske

Allyson's Wedding Quilt 
by Gail Battista
quilted by Erica Barrett
Design source: Jinny Beyer's Lotus quilt pattern

Hazel's Diary Quilt
by Linda Kowalski
quilted by Shelly Pagliai

Rhapsody Over Ancient Days
by Masako Sanada
(fabrics of old kimonos and futons were used) 

Faces of India
by Helen Godden and Jonathan S. Evans

Detail: Faces of India

My Emily Munroe Quilt
by Susan Calhoun
quilted by Terry Kramzar

Silk Road
by Kumiko Frydl

Larger Than Life
by Karen Amelia Brown

A Cancerous Turmoil
by Karen Capozzoli

Fracture
by Betty Busby

On the Same Page
by Linda Anderson

Kaleidoscope 1 
by Julie Schlueter

Free at Last
by Joy Palmer

Not Now, Maybe Never
by Joan Dorsay

What a variety of quilts! The fabric and thread are consistent throughout, but what the quilter has done with that fabric and thread is what makes them unique. While not all the quilts will appeal to everyone, they will to someone—and that's what gives spice to the quilting world's life. 

P.S. A shout-out to our faithful reader, Wendy Caton Reed (The Constant Quilter) and her beautiful quilt. I loved seeing your quilt again!

No Bake Appliqué, Wendy Reed; Maine, USA