PG: Parental Guidance

edit: adding my link up for 2016 FAL Q3 for my finished quilt! I'd have to guess that this particular one has made an appearance on more FAL goal lists than any project - ever.  

This one.  The long overdue quilt for my youngest son is finally finished.  He's waited so patiently for it and there really is no excuse why it is late.  It's not like subconsciously I didn't want to admit my baby was all grown up, right?

 85"x95"

One day I will make a collective collage of all the 21st Birthday quilts I've made for my nieces, nephews and sons but I've got one more to sew before I can do that.   11 out of 12 feels accomplished and considering I was on time for the first 9 of those, well that's something.

(back) second front

By the time I got the top done I was really tempted to find a 108" wide and call it good.  But, you know - it's such a special quilt.  So instead pushed myself to create the jumbo version of the block, piecing scraps together as needed.   My friend Lori saved me big time with the fabric used in the border so that I could build it out large enough.

binding in bed

Thanks to wonder clips and a needle minder, I spent the weekend in bed with a marathon binding session stitching down the binding and binge watching Stranger Things and Gilmore Girls.  It happened to fall on the first Modern Quilt Guild Virtual Sew Day so that was fun.

parts in process

I was fortunate to use my friend Pat's longarm and although it was quite the learning curve and probably not the best first project to take on considering the size and fussy placement of the back,  we had a great time hanging out and it was in the end a big success.  

Funny enough I was worried about the light thread contrasting on the dark fabric and although it was intimidating stitching on those blocks, I could see what I was doing much better than then when it blended on the light.

layout fun

Isn't this shot a crack up?  With photos unless there is an object to judge it's hard to tell size.

sham glam

The measurement of the motif determined the width of the shams and the pillows were fortunately close to being the same width.  At the suggestion of my friend Anna at our guild Sew Day I boxed the corners for a cleaner fit.

stacks and steps

Naming a quilt is something I enjoy - a feeling not shared by everyone apparently - check out Debbie's post and reader comments to see what I mean.    Of course it's a delectable mountain because that's the block name, but it deserves a title. It's been referred to "my Retreat quilt" because I've taken it to every single one over the years.

retreat 

I've also called it my Parson Gray (PG) quilt because although I have a scrappy aesthetic, my son does not and pre-approved each fabric used.   So with a play on the initials, I've titled it Parental Guidance.   I'm happy to say, he's grown into wonderful young man and I am extremely proud to be his mom.  

On that note, I'll leave you with this treasured photo from when he was no bigger than my sewing machine.  

Linking up to TGIFF 

and later on to FALQ3 for the quilt and the shams (2 of my 6 goals)  Here's a link to my goals post.