TFIFF (or almost Friday) - Genesis of a quilter

No, TFIFF is not a typo. I'm just SO freaking relieved this is finished. It has taken a lifetime. Literally. This guy's lifetime:

Patches when quilt was started

Patches when quilt finished (yesterday)

Let me tell you a story...

1999: Girl gets Elna sewing machine as present. Girl decides to learn to quilt. On her own. (This is before the internet got big, when we learnt quilting from stone tablets these things called books).

2000: Girl starts a quilt involving triangles, cuts with scissors, buys polyester fabrics and poly batting. It ends up in the Salavation Army bin. Salvation Army gives it to the Lost Dogs home (for all I know). Girl gets puppy and names him Patches after new hobby.

2002: Girl takes classes, discovers applique and starts baby quilt for pregnant sister in law. Finishes quilt. Feels triumphant. Has BRILLIANT idea of designing own KING SIZE quilt as wedding present for friends. Finishes top in time for wedding (regularly tested by Patches). Grinds to halt.

Girl discovers fitting King size quilt through baby-size Elna potentially similar to giving birth. Takes 3 years to complete in-ditch quilting. Grinds to halt.

2003-2007: Couple intended as quilt receipients have first child. Girl thinks "gosh/darn/damn/crap/s$&#*/[insert increasingly rude word for each year here], I really should finish that quilt".

2008 - Girl gets Bernette. Girl discovers fitting King size quilt through standard size Bernette is still only slightly more feasible (and a lot less fun) than trying to fit camel through eye of a needle. Grits teeth and wrestles quilt through for straightline in-the-ditch quilting, bit by painful bit. Girl is faced by insurmountable problem of how to finish off quilting given large triangles of blank space. Grinds to halt.


2009-2010 - Girl either:
a) acts like dog that has had encounter with particularly nasty cat and pretends not to notice quilt every time she opens spare-room door or
b) wastes inordinate amounts of time pondering what to do with blank spaces in quilt.

2010: Original intended recipients of quilt celebrate 10th wedding anniversary.

2011: Girl suffers quilt induced nervous breakdown, buys new sewing machine with BIG space and extension table, works out what to do with the big triangular gaps in the quilt, starts TGIFF with M-R and FINISHES THE FREAKING THING.

So THAT, my friends, is why it is a TFIF Friday instead of a TGIF Friday.

Thank FREE-MOTIONQUILTING It's Finished Friday!
(That was what you thought the F stood for, wasn't it?)

Enough teasing, here are the proper photos. (For Giles, it's a black homespun solid with stars in very bright, marbled colours, set on diamond points, with little 1.5" squares crisscrossing diagonally across the quilt around each star. One very thin border with all the rainbow colours graduating and melding from red through orange, yellow, green, to blue, to purple, to pink and back again to red, all the way around, with a wider black border to finish off. Which is why it's called a jewelbox quilt - the colours fairly sparkle.)

Held up by camera assistant

Before nearly falling off wall with camera

Late afternoon sun on quilt in my bedroom

(I didn't get to wash it as it didn't fit in the washing machine!!! But I did sleep under it last night - first night sleeping under my own quilt!)

Now submit your own finish below or check out some of the other finishes. :) Thanks for joining me in this week's TGIFF. Next week is at M-Rs and remember to join the TGIFF blog to stay updated or sign up to host.
Posting this early (it's nearly Friday in New Zealand) to enter the Quilting Gallery's weekly contest, which is appropriately 'Stars'. Julie always wins so you may as well go and vote for her, and me too if you're feeling kind! Voting starts Friday. Your time, I'm guessing...