I decided to “re-bind” a wallhanging size quilt I made years ago from a panel that I have hanging in a little alcove in the stairwell from the main floor to the basement:
I put the quilt together fairly quickly and did simple quilting on it years ago. I put a quick binding on it using the same Stonehenge fabric I used for the border of the quilt.
This binding has irritated me for years. I felt like I should have used black fabric to binding it, which would “frame” the piece. I have lots of pictures in black frames next to the wallhanging and it just seemed like a black binding was what the quilt needed to pull the whole alcove together.
So one day on impulse I cut the old border off and put on a new border!
I like it MUCH better and now it frames the wallhanging!
(By the way, the photos underneath are travels/adventures that John and I have experienced together since we met 6 years ago.)
I love Colorado and I’ve been lucky to live here for a little over 6 years.
In 2019 when I was considering the move to Colorado and not sure if it was the right thing or not, the Universe gave me a sign, and this ad was the first thing I saw when I opened a magazine to read while I was still deciding:
That ad did not lie, I feel “truly alive” here!
I want to share that feeling and my love of Colorado with friends and family who come to visit, so I placed my completed Pieces of Colorado quilt in our daylight basement guest room:
In addition to celebrating Colorado, I wanted to celebrate the beauty of the U.S. National Parkssome of my country’s most beautiful and precious lands.
So throughout the guest room I have framed posted of National Parks especially those that John and I have visited (together or in our previous lives) and ones we plan to visit in the near future. I thrifted the pictures – got them from a book on the art of of National Parks posters that was not in good condition but most of the pages were.
I also thrifted all the other art/decor in room, including the beautiful rug which I found for $12 at a Goodwill Outlet (we cleaned it very well).
And John made the bedside tables which include built in outlets for easy access to charging devices for guests.
He also built a little bookshelf for the “guest library” where I keep books that I’ve already read and want to keep for guests to read while they visit and/or take with them home.
Here’s a tour:
Here’s a closer look at some of the cool Colorado and National Park art I found at thrift stores (many for under $5):
I struggle with buying anything new these days and there are so many treasures at thrift stores (plus I am keeping stuff out of landfills and giving them a new home).
On the desk in the guest room (we did buy the desk years ago new), I have a collection of thrifted books on National Parks below a thrifted radio:
Yes that is a National Park (Grand Canyon) thrifted mug holding pens for guests to use (I have a thrifted note pads in the desk drawer).
I also have a basket where we are keeping any maps, brochures or pamphlets were pick up while visiting National Parks for guests to look through (along with some unused slippers for them we’ve collected from hotel stays):
When designing our guest room I wanted to have the things I wished people would have for me when I visit and so we stocked the guest room closet with two (relatively inexpensive) bathrobes so our guests can feel cozy:
I hope this doesn’t sounds like a “soapbox” but I feel strongly that if people spend their money and time to come and visit you, you should make them feel VERY welcome. When traveling it is challenging to be away from your comforts of home so we try to give them as many comforts as we can.
We have our guest bathroom well stocked with what we think guests might need so if they are visiting us they don’t have to worry about bringing a lot of toiletries. We also make sure there are plenty of fresh towels. We’ve even put a little hamper basket in the guest room closet for their dirty towels, etc.
People might think we are “over the top” in our hosting but we want to honor each person who visits our home.
I guess this thrifted sign in our guest room we hung above one of the windows sums it up:
Oh wait, this post was supposed to be about the Pieces of Colorado quilt being hung, I think I digressed – ha!
(By the way if this post left your eyes rolling in your head, just accept that John and I are weird…ha!)
Sending thanks out to those of you who’ve followed the journey of this quilt completion. A special thanks to Kate of Tall Tales From Chiconia who inspired me to work on this quilt as part of the monthly ScrapHappy online group she helps run (the blocks for my quilt are entirely of fabric scraps, many of them from other quilters).
If Kate hadn’t inspired me, the quilt might have continued to be an old UFO (unfinished object for the non-quilters) for endless years!
Quick story behind this quilt: I began working on blocks for this quilt at a quilt retreat back in 2017 (yes 8 years ago) when several of my quilting buddies were working on blocks from Lori Holt’s book Farm Girl Vintage. I am not into the “farm girl” aesthetic but the blocks looked so fun; and I was drawn into the fun and excitement my friends were having making the blocks.
But the blocks got put away to gather dust (because I didn’t know what I would do with such a quilt that didn’t fit into my more Bohemian decor aesthetic) until I did an audit a couple years ago of my UFOs and decided I should finish the quilt.
And now finally the quilt is done!
I hate binding quilts and decided to try out of new technique for binding the quilt per this YouTube video:
It worked and I ended up with nice crisp corners, which I’ve always struggled with:
The finished quilt measures approximately 96 by 97 inches (2.44 meters by 2.46 meters) and it was a bit unwieldy to try and photograph for this post. First I tried photographing it on my front porch draping it over the railing and photographing the front and back on the rail:
Then John got a long board of wood from his woodworking project pile along with a couple of woodworking clamps and clamped the quilt on. He held it above his head while I took photos.
Yes there is a shadow up top but I didn’t want to ask him to redo it in another location. This photo is good enough!
And here is a little section of the quilted back of the quilt with the Cortez Mill Flour sacks and disassembled recycled duvet cover:
So my future plan is to send a photo to the Cortez Flour Mill so they can see what I did with their flour sacks!