I quilted like CRAZY in March because it was National Quilt Month and I was quite determined to pull all of my unfinished quilts out and work on each one. While I made a lot of progress, I didn’t finish any of the four.

Then the month of April was mainly spent in the gardens plus designing, creating, and stitching projects for friends and for the Homosassa Mullet Toss and Spring Festival. It’s this Saturday and I finished all my assignments!

And I got back to quilting in May. Starting and finishing my “Scrappy Times 3” quilt. Here’s how it looked in March….

It just needed basted, quilted, and bound.

Just.

I made a backing out of scraps. It took extra long–almost like making another quilt–but I was really happy with it. And I used up a lot of pieces of fabric that I’ve had hoarded for a very long time.

I tried a different batting which was fusible. It was a nightmare. It fused in the middle but as I quilted out towards the edges I realized that the batting was no longer secure. Had to re-fuse and then pin baste. And the backing had gone wonky on me. I had to add more fabric and batting. It was a mess. I might use this fusible for smaller pieces like wall hangings and pillows. But not for quilts!

My quilting skills were questionable, too. I tried a different style. Started with a circle in the middle and worked out to the edges. I’ve done this before and was happy with it but not this time. Fortunately after the quilt was washed and dried, it shrunk enough that it’s not really noticeable. Except by me and I’m not pointing out the mistakes to anyone else!

I used this really dense quilting because I was concerned about the denim pulling apart from the cotton since they are different weights. I have to admit that I’m not crazy about dense quilting. It makes the quilt really stiff and not soft and cushy like I want them. But it’s done.

I started making these “scrappy times quilts” back when our world wide quarantine started. It was a scary time with not knowing what the future would bring and would we ever get back to normal. (still not sure about getting to normal.) I started just using fabric I had in my stash rather than ordering new. I finished “Scrappy Times 1” in April 2020.

I made “Scrappy Times 2” based on the Norah quilt from Sunny Day Supply. Finished it in July 2020. This is the first quilt that I hand quilted. And it won’t be the last. I enjoyed the process.

And here’s the “glamour shots” for “Scrappy Times 3”.

I usually have Terry hold my quilts but he has been quite busy getting ready for the festival on Saturday. So I set up the camera with the self timer and held the quilt up myself. After several tries, this is as good as it gets!

Here’s the backing…

I found some “orphan blocks” that I put in the backing, too.

And here’s a gulf fritillary butterfly that stopped by for the photo shoot.

And here’s me!

I was so frustrated while I was finishing Scrappy Times 3, I thought maybe I’m not a quilter–just a piecer!!!! But I will persevere! I don’t give up that easily. I still have 3 quilts to finish! (maybe in June)