Deco Quilt Top FINISHED!

Well, THAT took a bit longer than I thought it would.  😐.   Behold the idiocy of my own words, mocking me from my November 1, 2021 blog post when I started this quilt: 

"...So, yes -- my Weekly Goal is to cut and sew 54 Block One log cabin blocks for my Deco Bed Quilt, and my OMG (One Monthly Goal) for this quilt is to complete the entire quilt top!"

HAHAHAAHAHAHA!  Spoiler alert, to those just joining me -- it took me a lot longer than a week to cut and piece 54 log cabin blocks.  If my life depended on accurately predicting how long it would take me to make a quilt, I'd just be dead already with no quilts to show for myself at all.

102 x 102 Deco Quilt Top is Finished

Finishing this quilt top (FINALLY!) nearly three and a half years after starting it was my OMG (One Monthly Goal) Part I for March, as in THIS March, 2025, so I'm glad it's together and off my design wall.  I finished it late last night after Bernie had already gone to bed and I couldn't get it back up on my design wall without his help, so I just spread it out on this bed in a guest room instead.  Photos taken with morning light.  This is probably the room where this quilt will "live" once it's quilted and bound.

Deco Quilt Top Awaiting Quilting

I did the perimeter stay stitching 1/8" from the edge on all four sides of the quilt top, so it is ready for quilting.  I have backing fabric already; I bought it and prewashed it three years ago when I finalized the color palette for the quilt top.  

I just need to take final measurements of my quilt top (it was supposed to finish at 102" x 102") and measure my backing fabric again because it probably shrank some in the wash and I don't remember how big it was to begin with anyway.  It's one of those 108" wide sateens with an Anna Maria print.

Action Shot, Quilt Top Assembly In Progress.  Suspense!!

My poor fancy sewing machine has been sewing nothing but straight stitches.  I'll bet she's disappointed that she wasn't "adopted" by some other maker who would put on her embroidery module and let her do all her fancy high tech tricks...  Oh well!  At least I've been keeping her nicely oiled and cleaning all those navy lint balls out from under her stitch plate!  I even changed her needle twice since I've been working on finishing Deco.  And eventually we know that the embroidery module WILL come out, because this quilt is going to need a label!

Horn for Bernina Luxe Plus Cabinet with All Extensions in Place 

By the way, I opened up my Horn for Bernina Luxe Plus cabinet to its fullest size by the time I was sewing the center diagonal seam to join the two halves of this large, heavy quilt top.  Having that extra support made a huge difference and it just took a few moments to get the extensions in place.  I'm leaving the cabinet like that for now, just in case I need to seam anything with that backing fabric.  But then I'll be putting this quilt on a hanger in the closet for awhile until I'm ready to quilt it.  Because my Part II OMG for March was to finish custom quilting my friend Marybeth's 1984 sampler quilt, and that is still in progress on my long arm!  Stay tuned…

Meanwhile, my husband and I went to the Naples Downtown Art Fair in Cambier Park yesterday morning and saw some interesting pieces.   I wish I'd taken more pictures to share with you!  This painting was one of my favorites, based on an aerial view of the city of Jerusalem looking Eastward:

Jerusalem, by Yoram Gal

After reading Simon Sebag Montefiore's book Jerusalem: The Biography (in preparation for a trip to the Holy Land with my mom that was canceled due to the outbreak of war in Gaza), I was fascinated by this map abstraction that conveys so much about a patch of land that has meant so much to so many different peoples over thousands of years, painted lovingly by artist Yoram Gal who was born there and clearly loves his homeland.  I really enjoyed talking about this painting with the artist but I didn't buy anything. Really we just went to the art fair to enjoy a lovely morning strolling around the park, enjoying the beautiful weather and looking at all the pretty things.  

Bernie, His 1973 Datsun 240 Z, and His 1973 Wifey

Last weekend I went with Bernie to one of his "Saturday Night Cruise-In" events with his Other Woman, the 1973 Datsun 240 Z that he has owned and been continually tinkering with since he was in high school.  You know, like changing out the rims, new seats, God knows how many thingamajigs from under the hood have been replaced, swapped out, or upgraded over the years.  Which gets me thinking how grateful I am that my husband is a car guy and not Dr. Frankenstein the Plastic Surgeon, because can you imagine?!  "Hmm, what if we put longer legs on the Wifey so she could run faster?  Longer arms so she could reach things on the top shelf without needing help?  Can we rig some kind of muffler to stop her snoring at night?  How about some shiny chrome for her teeth and fingernails?  And chrome kneecaps and ears and elbows, because really there is no such thing as too much chrome..."

This week's sewing goals will be light because I'm headed to Austin, Texas for a long weekend with one of my sisters.  I need to make progress on Marybeth's custom sampler quilt, get all the paperwork together and out the door to the accountant for our taxes (can't believe I haven't done that already!) and get everything transferred over to a new computer.  So if I can just get the backing ready for the Deco quilt and quilt the next sashing row on Marybeth's quilt, I'm going to call that a win for the week.

I'm linking up today's post with the following linky parties:

ONE MONTHLY GOAL

Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room

MONDAY

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs  

TUESDAY

To-Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt  

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

THURSDAY

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

FRIDAY

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre

Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty

 TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: TGIF Friday

SUNDAY

Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework