the end of the pony club

I don't know if it is with great sadness or relief that I write this, the final post in the journey of my pony club quilt. Maybe both? Either way, the journey has come to an end. I know that I mentioned before that this has been a bit of a roller coaster, a lot of love-hate going on, but I am happy to say that I am absolutely in love with this finished quilt!

I started this almost a year and a half ago, and took a long break from it last year. This year I decided it was time to finish it up and I had a great time doing it. 89 blocks from the book plus my one addition, mostly scraps for the blocks. The cornerstones are sketch in mist, and it is sashed and bordered in interweave chambray, which I have to say, turned out to be the perfect choice. It has more depth then a plain gray but was easier to work with then a linen, I thought. I had wanted to use a peppered cotton, which would admittedly have been softer, but this one was just the *perfect* shade of gray. I was worried that the blocks wouldn't have enough breathing room with the tiny sashing (it only finishes at 1" wide) but it seems I needn't have worried.

It is backed in a lovely, soft Joel Dewberry voile and, in a strange move for me, bound in that same chambray. I don't know if I have ever bound something to match the border, but I think it was the absolute right decision for this quilt. It felt like it took ages to bind this thing, probably because of the weight difference between the voile and the chambray, but it worked out in the end.

It took me a long time to decide on quilting. Part of me really wanted a nice allover design, like baptist fans or something, but I just don't have the skills yet to pull that off and I knew I would just get frustrated and feel like I ruined my quilt, so it had to be straight lines. I thought about just staying in the sashing, but I really wanted to secure the blocks themselves a bit, so diagonal lines seemed a good answer. I knew I wouldn't like just an X through each block, but when I thought of doing a double X, hitting on either side of the cornerstones, I fell in love. I really think that makes this quilt for me. It is still light as far as quilting goes, but it also feels secure and doesn't detract from any of the blocks. I actually used masking tape to mark each diagonal and then figure out where to line up my walking foot so that it would hit where I needed it to.

It came out a smaller queen size and is already happily residing on my bed. I think before I washed it, it was about 84"x93" so there is not a huge amount of overhang on the sides, but I think it will work perfectly just the same. Once I get my double wedding ring quilt done for the bed, this one will probably move to the couch, but I am totally okay with that. I am beginning to think that in order to have a quilt on my favorites list, all I have to do is back it in voile, so I'll have to remember that!  This quilt was a long time coming, but I have to say that it was worth the wait!