Finished: California Dreamin'

This is a quilt with a story.  I was staying with my Mum in 2010 when I first saw the fabric and then the pattern.  I have a Dutch language copy of Patchwork magazine with the pattern in and it was the only reason I bought it,  I found out later it was a free pattern from the Free Spirit website!

I finally bit the bullet in early December shopping around on Evil Bay for the best price, and bought the fabric.  Needless to say, I over ordered some prints and under ordered two, both of them critical.

 I spent the hated Christmas season teaching myself foundation paper piecing and got most everything done I could, planning to get the remaining fabric in January.  Then a massive spanner got chucked in the works - I was left without ANY money (see the sister blog to this one for an explanation).

Three very kind people helped me enormously.  First Sarah at SewMeHappy then Jenna at SewHappyGeek and the very generous Lisa from Illinois who really bailed my backside out and enabled me to finish the top.

Let me say this now, had anyone said that this was essentially a New York Beauty quilt, I would never have tried it.  Secondly there is no skill rating on this pattern.  Technically I would say before doing it that it was too difficult for this numpty to achieve.  There are mistakes but this essentially is a learning piece for me.

I'm just pleased to have finished it and I love the colours and shapes and warmth.  It will hang on my wall until I finish one of those amazing Judy Niemeyer designs I have coveted forever and felt were technically beyond me. I don't think they are any longer.  Then there are Jacqueline de Jonge's quilts like this   And  Dan Rouse put up this beauty.  I want to be Dan when I grow up - he does the best curved piecing ever! Anyone want to come on the mad journey??