Tidy Up Tuesday - Paying it Forward

Welcome to another edition of Tidy Up Tuesday!  Earlier this year, I participated in Project Quilting.  I visited all of the links and saw all of the lovely projects.  The project I'm sharing today was among them.

How I came to take part in its finishing is a bit of a story...

A couple of years ago, a generous quilter (all but) gifted me with a quilt.  Nicole @ Handwrought Quilts posted her Wonky Star quilt finish and mentioned that it had been listed for sale in her Etsy shop.  I didn't NEED more quilts in my house, but oh how I loved it!

I commented on Nicole's post, but such a frivolous purchase was out of my budget.  You see, my husband was between jobs.  Buying a quilt on a whim (when there were hungry mouths to feed) was out of the question!  Well, I was offered a super sweet deal on the quilt and the quilt came to live with me.  I posted about receiving the quilt HERE.

In consideration of Nicole's kindness, I knew that I would return her generosity to some other quilter, at some other time.  This Spring, I saw this post (LINK HERE) and felt a tug at my heart.  I knew that it was time to Pay-It-Forward.

When the time came to begin working on Barb's BIG quilt, I spread it out on the longarm...

 ... To test a variety of thread colors:

 Ultimately, determining the best choice:

Let the loading begin:

What was that???  You want to see which thread was chosen?!  Oh, OK.  That would be the paler of the two:

Then, once the batting was added and the top was smoothed on...

... The quilting began:

Let's not forget a quick look underneath the frame:

The thread choices seam just right:

Eventually, the quilting was done...

... And the quilt was removed from the frame:

Just LOOK at all of that glorious texture:

Although, I must apologize to the quiltmaker, as all of my photos show the quilt wrong-side-up:

I couldn't resist sharing this sweet little bird and nest:

Burying thread tales:

The same thread, shown on the colorful patches:

I waited for this BIG reveal for a couple of reasons...

Other projects were lined up waiting for this one to be completed.

My client deserved the opportunity to do her own reveal post first.

I was distracted by the great LWR project, as well as Quilt Retreat.

Another time-sensitive project jumped the line, as well.

SEW...

There you have it.  Excuses.  I've got a few!  Alas, I remain thrilled to have participated in the finishing of this lovely quilt.  Thanks again, Barb, for trusting me to help you with this project!

Quilt in.

Quilt out.

Until next time...

Share the quilty love!!!