Penny Sampler: the finale

I finally did it. I finally sat down and finished up my penny sampler quilt. I don't know why I kept putting it off. The top has been done since November and I have had the backing since before the holidays. I really have no excuse, but I do think I fell a bit out of love with it once it was done. Somehow it is much brighter than I imagined and while I like it, I am just not as in love with the whole as I was with the individual blocks.

Anyway, you may {vaguely} remember that this was a class that Rachel at Stitched in Color held. It started in August and finished up in November, doing a few blocks per week. Considering I had a baby days before it started, I kept up surprisingly well. It was easy to just do a few blocks and kept me at least sewing something.

I had this grand idea that I was going to quilt the dogwood pattern on this quilt, but I think that was another reason I kept putting it off. It would have looked awesome, but on a quilt this size, it just felt like it would take forever. And I'm just going to be honest here, I stink at free motion quilting. I am working on it and I will keep working on it, but I just suspect this is something I will never be very good at. I am not a good doodler either and I suspect this might be related. I ended up with some nice...what would you call them...loops? And as easy a pattern as it is, it has an awful lot of mistakes and....sad loops. It was also really difficult to quilt over some of the thicker applique, and there are more than a few puckers if you inspect it closely. Still, it is a nice overall pattern and it turned out pretty well.

The back is a dottie quilt backing in tonal steel which I love a little. The binding is mostly gray with dots (I totally forget what it is right now but I think it's from bella) with a splash of pink in the corner which I would love to call intentional but I was actually just short that much ha.

So there it is. And now that it is finished I do love it. And I will be perfectly happy snuggling under it...if someone else doesn't claim it as their own first :) Woohoo for finished quilts! In other news, if my blocking attempt goes well, I will be returning soon with my finished shawl!