New Quilt--99 Years. . .

"99 Years. . ." c. 2008

Our guild held a challenge recently, devoted to "9's." There were some rules to follow:
At least 9 fabrics
The number 9 in the quilt
At least one fabric 9 years old
A 9-patch in the quilt
Our hope is to get our group of quilts accepted for showing in 09 at the new AQS Show in Knoxville, TN.

My quilt, above, came about first from hunting a 9-year-old fabric in my stash! I have many I know, but couldn't remember which! I found the star block which I knew was that old, and the light solid in it was from my early quilting days. So I started from there.

It had that little print in it, and I found I had more that would coordinate. The theme came from working frantically all summer in the studio, and everyday praying, Oh Lord, what all can I get done today? (This comes from having been gone most of the spring, and the fact that we spend over 3 months in Fl each year!) I don't have access to all my stash and stuff all year, so I wanted to take full advantage of my time. And none of us know how much time we have, right?

The challenge for me in this quilt was all those letters! I hand-drew them all and cut them out, then they all had to be applied somehow. That wound up to be with a fusible on the back, and then blanket-stitched by machine. I never was so glad to get that task done!

By then, I saw it was taking on this "Mary Englebreit" look. At the end, I went to my stash and the fabric which looked best for the back was a surprise. In the selvedge, there was "Mary Englebreit" (forgot which fabric line); so I guess that was meant to be.

To further the theme about time, I went online and got images of clocks. They were applied with a fusible as well. On the left is a charm made of letter beads, which reads "more time, Lord."

It was a challenge because I took more pains and did some new things I hadn't done (because they take more time!). I didn't win the Viewer's Choice, but I really liked the one that won. Karen Barger did a quilt that showed her sewing room in applique and "possession is 9/10's" being the problem! I identified totally.

But I really like my quilt and we are very hopeful that we will get to show them all next year.