First, let me say THANK YOU to all of you for your kind and thoughtful comments regarding Malachi. It means a lot right now. Thank you.

You know those projects that you start with no clear idea of where it will go but once you get going with it you can’t stop until it’s all done? That’s what this quilt was like for me. It started with this mat. It made me want to take a chevron quilt using solids only. Then I taught the chevron quilt class at gather here and stripped and cut the pieces there for my demo. And then I just couldn’t stop because I was so excited to see it finished. I kept sewing until I had the center pieced and decided to sash it purely on a whim. I’m glad I did now because that negative space gives the dense center a little breathing room.

I decided to do straight line quilting within the columns and free motion quilt the border. I like the contrast between the two. And? My free motion did not suck ass this time. I think the trick for me is to work smaller areas at a time. And to always think ahead of the machine. I’ve gotta practice practice practice….

At the risk of sounding like a butthole, I love this quilt. It’s probably my favorite that I’ve made in the last year. And it looks like Dahlia approves, as she shows Matt how to hold it: