House Quilt Is Finished--post 4

View of the quilting pattern

My friend, Martha, would like this finish! We were in a small group together. She asked the group members to make her a "wonky house" block in recognition of her 70th birthday. While she loved the blocks and petted them often, she didn't get around to setting them before she died.

My friend, Pat, picked up the house blocks; but, then she gifted them to me. I got a kick out of seeing the blocks again and decided it was time to set the blocks. 

I wrote the first post about this project in September of 2023. I managed to get it to the flimsy stage by the end of September 2023. I sent it to the longarmer last month.

I tried the Hobbs polyester batting for a second time. For the second time, it was not my favorite. While the quilt is squishy, it is too puffy for me. The houses distorted way more than I like with the quilting; but, I am happy to have it quilted and not by me!

Texture the quilting provided 

I bound the quilt with scraps of the backing fabric. Finishing this project was goal 2C on my annual goal list.  It was goal number four on my December list. 

I would have finished this project earlier; but, I stitched the sleeve on a side rather than at the top of the quilt! A session with "Jack" and session of stitching, I had finished! 

 After a blog post where I had asked for name suggestions, Melisa at Pinker and Punkin Quilting and Stitching offered, Happy Homes. Which got me to thinking about the book setting. Happy Homes became The Village of Artists. Happy Homes, however, may make a future appearance!

The label

The label came from a stack of labels that was on the guild free table long ago. The quilt measures 65 inches by 68 inches.

This quilt is my project for the book, "Strangers in the Night" by Pat Rushford. The main character in the book is contemplating purchasing an almost abandoned town and turning it into an artist colony. There is a murder, several secrets and a love interest. Pat is a member of our Thread Tales book club. She self published many of her books.

It was fun to listen to her answers to the questions we posed her about writing and self publishing. I was awed at easy she made self publishing seem!

Cynthia Brunz of Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework spoke at our guild in 2023. Her talk inspired me to use my stash of strips and blocks from the parts department. My friend, Alvera had challenged one of her small groups to put together a top using leftover or orphan blocks. Jen Kingwell's pattern Wanderer's Wife was an inspiration source. 

Finished quilt

I follow Chantal at The Corner of Scraps and Quilts. She is masterful at pulling scraps and creating wonderful finishes. She motivates me to keep digging into my scrap bags to use 
what I have! To wrap up, I appreciate the support and inspiration from my fellow bloggers.

I used 16  yards of fabric from stash. This brings the total this month to 16.5 yards. I've used 125.75 yards of fabric from my stash this year. I have a net loss of 64 yards of fabric this year.

Finishing this quilt was goal number four on my December list. It was goal 2c on my annual goal list.