Gina's Beach Quilt

I thought today I would show a quilt I did early on in my quilting career.  I made this quilt in 2001, after my second trip to Kittyhawk  Beach with my brother and sister.  Which was also about 5 years after I got sick with Myasthenia Gravis  (that I mentioned yesterday). 

The first 6 1/2 years of MG I was on Oxygen 24/7 which made traveling a bit tenuous at best.  My first jaunt to N.C. took place in a car driven by a dear, dear friend over 3 days to get me and ALL my paraphernalia for survival there.

This second trip, I had improved enough that I traveled by myself via airplane.  (But still with Oxygen.)

I noticed on this trip that Gina needed a new beach quilt sew

I designed this quilt when I got home.

By this time I had only made a couple of place mats, a small quilt and 3 bed quilts.  Not much experience to be designing a medallion quilt.

But I managed to learn about coping strips and making getting things to fit around the previous rows.

Then I had to baste it.

I wasn't that experienced at basting yet and ended up having to baste it by myself.

A daunting task for a healthy person, but for me at that time, I could just barely breathe.

Sew I wallered around on the carpet in front of the office in my apartment complex.

(The only place I could think of the do this.)

And in a little over 2 hours time I managed to get it basted together.

It was NOT pretty.

I did not yet know about tacking down the backing while basting sew you don't get puckers in the back.

I did know about a busy back though, and that was very helpful later when I hand appliqued several large pleats down on the back.  You can hardly see them.

By the time I got to the forth side of this monster I believe I was oxygen deprived because I couldn't get it smoothed out, sew I got a needle and thread and took darts in the side.  (Left side between 2nd 3rd and 4th wave blocks.)

I was still very timid about my quilting stitches sew I quilted it with invisible thread.

Then I had the nerve to enter this quilt in a juried quilt show!

I got in, but did not get a prize.  Hmmmmm?

Well, Gina has her beach quilt, and she takes it to the beach, but she puts it on her bed.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

happy quilting