I love it when a quilt is finished and this quilt has been even longer in the making than most. The quilt top was finished about 3 years ago and was then superceded by another more pressing project (and then another etc), and then packed in a box when we moved house. Since our 'short stay' in rented accommodation has become a long stay I found the box when we shifted stuff from one storage space to another and rummaged around  until I found the quilt top and some wadding and then quilted it periodically at Nottingham Patchwork Group's monthly Sunday sewing sessions. It now fulfils it's purpose in life as a birthday present for a daughter in lieu of a poncho. I was so relieved when she didn't want a poncho....Hopefully it will spend many happy years as a cuddly throw on a sofa.

This quilt started life as the left over blocks from a previous quilt, hence the turquoise and blue centre section. The rest of it is made from a load of pre-cut squares bought at Nottingham Patchwork Group so is actually made from the left over bits of other peoples quilts as well as my scraps and left overs. I enjoyed the piecing of the squares into half square triangle blocks - some might find it boring but I found it to be quite relaxing just chain piecing the squares together; the sort of stitching you can do whilst listening to a story. Then there was the positioning of the blocks and I tried really hard to co-ordinate the colours around the centre block so that the colours blended and changed. The strip framing each round of blocks was tactical as well as useful in finishing off some fabric as it made the next row of blocks fit without having to do too much in the way of measuring and maths. The only fabric bought for this quilt was the backing which is a nice paw print fabric, good for hiding less than perfect quilting and fun for a pet loving daughter.