For My Emily!

I woke up this morning and the trash bag that has held Em's quilt for sooooo very long wasn't on the floor at the foot of our bed! It was a crazy feeling! I jumped out of bed and ran to the living room. There the "purple neverending quilt" was - all folded up on the couch where I had left it last night. I unfolded it and reminded myself again that it was finished! All finished! What a long project and what a great way to spend so many hours doing something I love for my precious Emily! We will really celebrate her birthday this year - she will finally receive her quilt. I'm glad she was willing to wait - since 2008 -  I think it was worth it!

**A side note for the quilters out there:  this pattern is from a quilt Kevin's aunts gave us for a wedding gift 31 years ago. I believe it is Courthouse Steps - a variation of Log Cabin. It was quite a feat to figure the yardage as I was going with the old quilt as my only pattern. I pieced the top on the machine (thanks to great help from my sister-in-law Jean) and hand quilted the entire quilt. I used soap slivers to trace my quilting lines on the strips and stitched in the ditch on each block. I used my Grandma Mehlberg's thimble.  Finally, I didn't have a sewing bag big enough, so I carted the whole lot around in a Hefty trash bag!
Next up? An "I Spy" quilt for my grandson Ethan! I am going to start working on putting on paper all the ideas I've had in my head since before he was born. Hopefully, what I see in my mind's eye can be translated to a quilt top. I'm thinking that love does that!