From K - Finished Black & White Kites Quilt

Today, I'm excited to cross another WiP off of my seemingly ever growing to-sew list. Let me introduce my newest finish, Black and White Kites!

I whipped up this quilt top more than 7 months ago, and had it backed and basted right away. Why it sat unquilted for so long I honestly don't know since it's usually basting the holds up my projects (tell me I'm not the only one who dreads basting!). While I can't give you an explanation for the delay, I have to say that I'm happy I procrastinated.

I'm glad I waited to finish this quilt for for two reasons: (1) I really wasn't feeling inspired on how to quilt it and didn't want to rush the process; and (2) I needed a hand project for a recent road trip and this already basted quilt fit the bill perfectly.

If you follow us on Instagram (@everydayfray) you may have seen a couple of in-progress hand quilting pics of this project taken during our drive down to Seattle. Lucky for me, after I finished the quilting, I was able to borrow Amanda's machine in Seattle to stitch on the binding, ready for me to hand bind it on the road trip home.

Overall I was really happy with how this quilt came together, regardless of how long this finish took. I love the texture that the hand quilting adds to both the quilt top and backing. My first foray into hand quilting was on my Sew Positive Baby Quilt last month, so I was thrilled to try it out a second time so soon. Although I'm an obsessive finisher, this project reminds me that sometimes slowing down and taking your time can deliver a product that is worth the wait.

Final Quilt Details:

• Quilt Name: Black & White Kites Quilt
• Finished Size: baby quilt size (54" x 66")
• Fabric: black and white fabric scraps (100% from this quilt), Kona Water (chevrons), Kimono Ty Pennington (quilt backing) and a mystery aqua print from Joann's (binding)
• Pattern: one of many HST options (I didn't follow a pattern for this)
• Quilting: hand quilted using white size 8 perle cotton

Additional posts about this quilt can be found here, here and here. 

This marks my second completed project for the Q3 2013 Finish A-Long - read more about my ambitious finishing goals here.

Linking up to TGIFF and Finish it upFriday.

From K - Road Tripping

The hubs and I are hitting the open road today, destination Seattle. He loves driving so I usually bring busy work to occupy my hands. On the WiP list for this trip are two knit projects and some hand quilting on my Black and White Kites Baby Quilt.

To top off the general fun and excitement that a road trip brings, I've been feeling nothing short of spoiled lately because that cousin/blog partner of mine, Amanda... the who lives so far away... well in a few days I will get to see her for the 3rd weekend in a row!

Two weeks ago we were both back in our hometown in Manitoba to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our amazing grandparents (yes you read that right, 60!). Coincidentally, while we were home the local museum hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the house they met in.

Here's a peak inside the 1920's house:

Then this past weekend Amanda, her husband, and their adorable yellow lab Bowser continued their trek to Calgary where they stayed with us for a few days - yay! Amanda diligently worked on 3 WiPs while I started 3 entirely new unplanned projects. Talk about a role reversal, go figure!

Our weekend looked quite a bit like this:

And now this upcoming weekend we will cross paths for the third time while simultaneously visiting Seattle. We used to see each other once every other year but somehow we've managed 8 visits in the past 12 months - craziness! You won't see us complaining though :)

Well I'm off to pack my duffle and get road trip ready. We'll be sure to share some pics of our Seattle adventures together soon.