January Finish -- Aidan's Quilt

For a while there I was beginning to think I was not going to finish my January goal, but I am out of my sick bed and have been able to spend a few days in my sewing room. I am so glad.  I didn't want to get behind in my very first month of A Lovely Year of Finishes!  

In my last post I told you about getting the backing made for Aidan's Alabama quilt and then getting it basted.  That was actually my goal for January, but I really hoped to get it quilted and bound as well.  I quilted the main part of the quilt with a variegated black/gray/white thread using a medium stipple.

When I got to the border I decided to switch to crimson for the quilting thread, and when I saw how good it looked I wished I had used it for the entire quilt.  Shortly after I started, I quilted across one of the Alabama A's.  I didn't like it.

From then on I was really careful to go around them, and I am very happy to report than only 2 more A's were sacrificed in the making of this quilt! 

I have to tell you that the going was not all that easy this week.  As you know, it's best to clean and oil your machine and change your needle before every new project.  This is NOT the result you want!

That's a little too much oil.  But that's what happens when the lid to your oil bottle is broken and it falls off when you are trying to put a tiny dot of oil in your machine!

I don't keep paper towels or rags in my sewing room, but there was plenty of toilet paper in the bathroom.

Everything went smoothly after that until I was clipping threads ......... and snipped a tiny little hole in the quilt!   I don't know if you can see it; the pin is pointed at the hole.  I think you can see it in the close-up.

Thinking it would shred during machine washings, I had to repair it.  I opened the seams on either side of it to appliqué a little piece of black over the hole.  Since the quilting was in the way I had to put the patch diagonally across the sashing.  You can really barely see it so I am very relieved.

Yesterday I got the binding on it, and last night I finished stitching it down.  I slept under it last night (a fun tradition I have!) and now it is ready to give to Aidan.

I really like this quilt a lot.  I know it will be well-loved, and that's really the best part of the whole thing.

I'm linking up to the FINISHES PARTY at Fiber of All Sorts and then I am going to see what everyone else accomplished this month.  My goal was entry #148.