Quilting: Campfire

There's really no excuse anymore for having WIP (works in progress) or UFOs (unfinished objects) during a pandemic.  I had ordered the Campfire quilt kit from Craftsy/Bluprint maybe a year ago, and finally I finished it a couple weekends ago.  I then started embroidering its quilt label.

Once the label was done, it was time to sew the binding.  I had plenty still of the fig fabric and didn't realize I hadn't needed to cut another strip, but I'm hoping to either sew a pillow or potholders with the excess scraps.  Instead of breaking out the ironing board, I finally used this Clover tool of a seam presser, which became really handy.

Pressing the binding in half, I felt, was much easier than using the binding tool.

I think this is the first time I have ever joined the binding ends and not have to start over.  I love hand sewing the binding on the opposite side or the backing, which I find so very Zen.

Finished.  Spring had sprung, and the weather was gorgeous to photograph this crib quilt in brilliant sunshine.

The quilt was not perfectly square, but still I tried to not trim away too much and throw off the proportion of the borders to the medallion.  I liken its wabi sabi-ness to the spirit of Gee's Bend. I used different color bobbin threads of dark and light pink and hope it's visually interesting and makes a cool texture on the other side of the quilt. I do love the contrast of the matchstick stitching to the big stitch hand quilting of the medallion despite the folds and puckers.  The newborn's mom wanted the color of the backing to be light pink, and I rather love it though I would have chosen for myself the curry color.

If I had to embroider the quilt label all over again(I decided to go with the light pink rather than pull it all out for another thread with more contrast), I would have stitched it in brown.  But I'm overjoyed that it's done.

And so yesterday after work, I hiked four and half miles round trip to the post office and mail my labor of love (along with an alphabet sampler I had embroidered in Washington) to its recipient.