Laying it aside

 Me and the quilt have been having it out discussing the idea of laying it aside and moving on for a while. After I made some mistakes like not making the quilt back big enough, sewing things together wrong, and general frustrations I have decided to put it up and move on to something else. I can't handle it right now! So, here is a photo glimpse of the finished top for you to view. I will return to the quilt after I have regained my sanity.

 I decided to mend some old quilts that have been needing it for quite a while. This one is an applique butterfly quilt pieced by my great-grandmother and (after many years finally) hand quilted by some ladies at my grandmother's church. I loved relaxing under it and sewing on it while thinking about where the fabrics came from and how my stitches intertwined with her's that she put in so many years ago.

I found little quirks in the quilt that I hadn't noticed before. It is hard to see in the photo but she had pieced a very small corner of back to complete the butterfly body. Such a small piece I probably would have cut the whole body smaller. I wondered why she had done that.

Some of the butterflies were in bad shape and some only needed a small stitch to keep it tacked down. This one was the worst. Here it is before:

 Here it is after I stitched it down and cut away the fraying pieces. I had to really alter the shape but at least it won't come off in the wash. This quilt now has its washing orders!

I also wanted to share this wreath I made. The whole thing probably cost me a dollar. I bought the vine wreath at a yard sale and got the flowers for free.