Happy New Year! My Hometown Nostalgia quilt top is finished and ready to share!
It's just a fun quilt, I think! I love that the blocks do subtly represent the seasons, I sewed mine together in the order that I made them, but you could totally arrange them in any way you would like.
I've been hearing an ad recently for the show Mad Men that talks about nostalgia and it really summed up what this quilt means for me. It speaks of nostalgia being a twinge in your heart, calling you back to a place and time where you knew you were loved. My original version definitely had that quality, the fabrics reminding me of my childhood in Colorado. It will probably remain one of my favorite quilts I have ever made because of that connection.
The first few rows will sew together easily - pin at each seam joining the blocks and the seams in the blocks themselves don't line up, so no worries about the bulk there! When you get to the August block, you'll have to start matching the block seams as well, and there will be some bulk where they come together. Just match to the best of your ability and sew through them. I do make some effort to make sure my points line up and don't get sewn through, but I really am not obsessive if they are a little off. After all, this is a quilt that will be used, not entered into a show. As long as most of them line up, I'm happy and am in it to just enjoy the process.
As far as pressing the row seams - I look to see which way the seam wants to go, and press in that direction. That's usually the side with the fewer seams, or less points. You can also press your seams open if desired. If you want to make your quilt a little larger, you could add a narrow sashing in between. In that case, you would press the seams toward the sashing strips. Without borders this top finishes at 60 inches wide and 72 inches long. I don't plan to add a border to mine, but it you like, you can add borders to bring it up to the size you want.
As far as quilting this goes, my original quilt is done with diagonal cross-hatching. For this one, I'm contemplating custom quilting each row. I've got a couple of other projects to finish up before I will work on this, so time to contemplate! I'll show you progress, of course, when I get there!
Yes, I am planning another project for 2025! This will be a fun one, I think - it will be starting up at the end of January, and I'll be revealing it shortly. It is called The Wanderer's Path and it will feature a nature theme. It is still in the design phase, so no preview for now, but very soon! Hope you will join me again, I really enjoy these projects!
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