Made In Cherry QAL - Finished!

Back at the end of 2011, Chelsea at Pins and Bobbins hosted a QAL called Made in Cherry.  We started cutting in Jan. 2012 and I had a top completed in Feb. 2012. You can see a post about the making of the top here.

Then it sat until Feb. 2013 where I decided it was time to get this thing quilted.

So, I remeasured the top because it looked way too long with the added white borders.  I was right. WAY too long. I pulled them off, left the colored square borders and loaded her up to quilt.

Knowing there was a lot of empty space, I wasn't sure what to do when I started but decided to start and just go with it.  I decided to do some straight line quilting in the open white space except in 2 of the triangles where I quilted echoing triangles.

I added a looping border next to the blocked border and on the blocked border, it's even simpler. Just an X through each block.

I am pleased with it even though it was a chore to quilt. Why? Simply b/c as I committed to the design, I envisioned it looking like crap.  I didn't even look at it once off the frame for fear I'd never bind it.  Honestly, I felt that ambivalent about it.

However, I am nothing if not honest and knew I had to take photos and post them here.  Still unopened, I grabbed 2 kids, told them to hold it up on a 30 degree and windy day and snapped a couple photos.

And fell in love.  I love how the quilting looks. I still think I could have done things differently but I also really  like how I didn't do all four side triangles in triangle echo but only 2. I like how the borders show up.  I love the loopy star quilting in the star (sorry, didn't show it) and that it's loose enough of a meander that the star still pops when looking at it.

Is it just me or did I do alright on this one?  (Yes, shamelessly asking for a complement... I'll be okay if you don't give me one. LOL)

Cheers!
Beck