"Riotous Hodge Podge" -- quilt top finished !

Here's an updated photo........the shot below the deck didn't work out.........there's grass that made the quilt-top lie all rumply ! And when I put her on the clothesline, she decided to dance in the Fall breeze...........who was I to stop her? I felt a little like dancing myself !

This is not the best photo..........I've already figured out where I need to put the top to get a good long shot of it, one that's nearly rectangular. But the rain needs to STOP and the SUN needs to SHINE for awhile first, because the perfect spot is on my driveway gravel, with me taking the photo from up above on my front deck !

But I was too excited to wait............I love this quilt top ! It's yummy, delicious ! Like having a rich scrap bag poured out at your feet, and you can't decide what to use, so you take big ol' pieces of all of it, and turn them into a quilt on which you can feast your tired eyes at the end of a day.

How do you like that border? My dear gal pal, Jodie Ann, sent me a challenge package this week, with leftovers from a recent charity project of hers. This time, there was no specific type of quilt challenged, just the request that I find a good way to "use up these fabrics".

Well, when I looked at this top, prior to borders, it didn't have a lot of personality, so I couldn't stand the idea of slapping on your standard, one-inch/six-inch border. Besides that, I had a pile of 1 1/2 inch strips leftover from trimming the 7 1/2 inch squares I used to cut out the blocks......and I didn't have enough of any one green fabric to go all the way around the quilt.

So, I started sketching, and cutting, and playing................isn't that the best way to spend a rainy day ? ! ? Before I knew it, I was just about to scream with anticipation. Back and forth, from one end of the trailer, where the bedroom is with the top laid out..........to the other end of the trailer, where the sewing room is...................I certainly got my exercise today. SOMETIMES I EVEN RAN............might I say I actually skipped once !

Hubby thought the quilt was too small when he saw it without borders, and the joke is, it's actually the perfect size now for his twin-size hospital bed ! I didn't plan it that way, but I am awfully tired of looking at that half-square plaid Lone Star quilt that's covered his bed for the last 6 months ! I hope I can get this one basted up and hand-quilted soon. My cotton batting has had one baby quilt cut off of it, so I don't think I can get this top out of it too. But the local fabric store sells a Mountain Mist cotton batting that I'll probably try.