Finished in 2013: MapleO's

If I were a cereal designer, I'd create something maple flavored that only comes out once a year and is like, the Pumpkin Spice Latte of cereals. MapleO's! There would be photos with artfully applied filters on instagram proclaiming "IT'S MAPLE O DAY!!!!" "OMG! LAST BOX OF MAPLE O'S!" #mapleoomg

But I'm not a cereal designer, I'm just a girl who daydreams about things like that. Please file this under: dream jobs.

One of my September sewing goals was to finish my Single Girl quilt that I started last fall. I used all scraps with the exception of creams- I had some in my stash, Chop bought me a few and friends gave me some. I finally found my pattern, remade my templates (I foundation pieced the arcs) and made 1/2 a block.

And wasn't feeling inspired.

So I rummaged through my scraps and would sew for 35-40 minutes each morning and built this little quilt top. It has lots of special fabrics and blocks within blocks. The big maples measure 21-22 inches, the little maples measure an inch and a half square, the geese & ribbons measure an inch. Thangles mini pack! Get one! Seriously! They make tiny piecing a breeze.

I'm going to carry this quilt with me everywhere, it's so soft and cozy. Very special. I love these kind of projects, when you start with something in mind and it just grows into something much better. The piecing just felt very organic, it's precise and straight in some spots, very improv and using the most of odd cuts of fabric in others. It's a quilt to read and knit under. It's one of my favorite sizes: 52x58 inches. Quilter's Dream Orient Batting, Velveteen backing and for a million reasons I opted to machine sew the binding on using this tutorial. I'm not even remotely good at machine binding and my walking foot was giving me fits but I thought glue basting was FUN! I might have to take it off and redo it on a different machine, it's pretty sloppy!

In hindsight, I totally wish I'd had Lindsay quilt it. I bought four yards of velveteen last winter to back a quilt with and it wasn't until last week that I realized I only received two. So that was a lesson learned, always measure your fabric when it arrives. I didn't have enough overage to be able to send it to her and I didn't have the budget for more velveteen. Total bummer. It would have been so cute with little maple leaves on it!

I sort of imagine my inner Mori Girl walking in the woods with this quilt, looking to find the perfect spot for a nap and some reading. ;) Oh speaking of reading, this came out this week!!!! I'm going to re-read the first one on vacation, then start this one. My friend Eva called it perfect fall reading and it's so spot on!

:):)