The Quilt that waited - finally finished

I started the first block of this quilt in 1997.  After completing my first applique class and working on a few samples I decided it was time to do something.  The local quilt shop River Cottage Quilts had a BOM that I thought I would have a go at.  You could have pattern only, or pattern and fabric.  I chose pattern only, as I had a lot of fabric.

I got the first block done, on my first rip to the USA in March 1998 - and did not touch in for another 5 years!  I kept collecting the patterns though, and stashing them away.

Centre and first block

After a while I though i had better get this thing out again, and I did, and finished off the other 8 blocks.  Back it went into the drawer.  It had a really complex border and sashing, and I could just not face that.

Another 5 or 6 years passed and I got it out when clearing out for a garage sale.  I was going to sell the blocks......yes I was!  Instead I put them all together, no sashing, and dug deep into the fabric stash, and found the border fabric, which is practically perfect.  It has the same shaped flowers as the applique.

I finished the quilting in 2 months so that I could enter it into the South Australian Guild exhibition in November.  it is not a prize winner, but I am perfectly happy with it, considering the stitching is very amateurish compared to today.

The pattern was from Lisa D Schiller, and I think it was called Stars and Vines - can't really remember, as it was so long ago!