Bin_There_Done_That is DONE!

I named this 55" x 55" quilt  BIN THERE DONE THAT. I wonder if anyone will recognize this quilt as derived from JoAnn Fabrics' 2006 Block of the Month Spice Meadows or even realize how far back the blocks date — nearly two decades. The fun Noah's Ark fabric on the back makes it feel a bit more contemporary... maybe. Actually I chose the striped backing fabric because I already had a generous amount of it  in my stash and the colors go really well with the front.

Noah's Ark has the same muted reds, soft golds, greens, and tan beiges as the front blocks. An exception is royal blue instead of regal purple. Here is a close-up of the backing fabric with my customary grosgrain ribbon labels on the lower corners of the quilt back. Here are previous posts about this quilt.

2/07/24 laying out collection of blocks from circa 2006
2/19/24 rediscovery of blocks in a bin and incentive to resurrect
2/27/24 sandwiching and quilt pattern decisions
9/07/24 FMQ completion
9/14/24 (this post) finished in time for Thanksgiving

These colors, except for some royal blue on the back instead of purple accents on the front, remind me of Thanksgiving hues. Bin There Done That kind of goes with the turkeys, don't ya think? I plan to deploy this quilt for Thanksgiving 2024.

FMQ Completed on Bin Project

This project was initially resurrected in February 2024 to empty a bin containing blocks from a 2006 Block of the Month activity. In my post for 2/19/24 I described the assembly of blocks along with fabric choices from my stash for sashing and backing. In my post for 2/27/24 I described my designation of blocks as either a 2x2 or a 3x3 array and how I intended to FMQ them. There are nine 2x2s and seven 3x3s. Then all progress halted for about six months. Now work on this quilt has resumed and I intend to see it through to completion. I have some momentum going and I am determined to refrain from tabling it again.

Once I started the FMQ I realized that I did not like the low quilting density on some of the 2x2 blocks and decided to treat them as 4x4 blocks. Here is a sample of 2x2 block quilted as 4x4 followed by a 2x2 block quilted as a 2x2. Since the four petal motif landed centered in each of the four striped squares, I decided to leave this four square 2x2 block as is and not quilt it more densely.

I then got the idea to quilt the brown speckled sashing in a centered repeat of the leaf motif in the blocks and to embellish each red cornerstone with a four petal flower. This pattern is a go-to for me. Yes, I was not very adventurous in my FMQ with this top but since it had been languishing in a plastic bin since around 2008, I just wanted it done. My goal is to have completed it by Thanksgiving since its colors reflect the mood and tonality of that holiday. On the edge sashing I biased the quilt pattern away from the edge so the petals will appear centered once the binding is attached. The binding will be the same fabric as the red cornerstones.

Next up is making the label, attaching the binding, and taking final photos.