Finally Flowers!

This little quilt has been in process since my visit to Texas in April, first in line for the longarm and then awaiting the re-adjustment of said machine due to major tension issues- perhaps you know the kind where rat's nests of thread form on the back of the quilt! Nothing I did helped and I did everything,  until I observed the Single Stitch mechanism sort of hesitating and hanging up the thread. I speeded that up a little and tweaked the upper and lower tensions - again - and at long last got a good stitch! Whew what a relief. If you zoom in on the quilt you will see that I quilted in leaves etc to fill the background and anchor the applique. Butterflies, lady bugs and a frog add life to this otherwise "still life".

 At first it was quilted sans border, but after it came off the long arm it seemed to need a border so then came a process of figuring out how to make a border, attach it neatly and then quilt it. First time for everything, right?
It was complicated by the fact that I had used up almost all of the backing fabric [a left over from another project] so a search through the stash turned up a small piece of the green print to complete the top and bottom border backing. Don't you think if this quilt hangs around for a few decades that people will wonder at my patchy backing? To me, it's the back that hangs against a wall!

Then back to the long arm and that's when the tension issues surfaced, and finally the last hurdle, insufficient border fabric for binding requiring a second search of the stash for a complimentary red.
Now I am very happy to have it done in time to take to Washington DC for the VHPA Quilter's meeting and Show and Tell, I make very few small quilts so this one had to be finished!
The next project should be a breeze, a queen size quilt of BJ's that she needs quilted for a friend's wedding gift.

Linking up with Heather at Needlework Tuesday