The story of a quilt: Emerald Isle

Four years ago, my family rented a house in the Outer Banks, on Emerald Isle, NC. My mom and I both brought fabrics in shades of blues and greens (without knowing what the other would bring).

We pieced together strips, without having a definite plan. We thought we'd have enough to make one quilt, but we were delighted to discover with an added border, we had plenty for 2 tops!

And that's where progress ended. We went home, put the strips away…and let it marinate for over two years. Last summer while I was visiting for a weekend, mom pulled the strips back out and all of a sudden: we were ready. We picked our own fabric for borders and the back and we had my top and back pieced together by the end of the weekend.

And so I took my quilt sandwich home with me, in hopes of finishing hand-quilting it by this year's trip back to Emerald Isle.

I quilt mostly on the couch, while watching TV or movies with Jay, after work. When we have a road trip ahead of us, I'll even quilt while riding!

And….

Four years after our last trip, four years after we started the quilt, we returned to the island, with the finished quilts in hand! Here's mine, front & back:

This quilt is the first in my quest to finish 6 quilts in 2013. To stay on track, I'm participating in the 2013 Finish-along, and you can read about my goal for this quarter here (I'm just a bit behind). Take a minute to admire the other Q2 Quilts in the FAL on She Can Quilt.

Oh! And here's Mom's!