Churnstile Quilt Finish!

I'm a quilter without a plan... that's just how I operate. Ok, well, I do from time to time make a plan for my ongoing projects, but a good majority of what I do, starts out with no real A to Z, start-to-finish, mapped out direction. Usually such quilting projects leave you with a pretty good story once you do finally make it to the finish line... so, are you ready for a sit back and grab a cup of coffee kind of tale?

I actually started my Churnstile quilt back in February of this year when I wanted to "audition" potential bee blocks for when it was my turn to be queen bee. It didn't take long for me to figure out that I liked the block so much, and had such a very specific color direction, that I decided to keep it for myself. After adding several blocks, I had my usual debate of layout and size. (I guess one could argue that since I do this with almost every quilt, that this IS actually the plan)

In the end, this quilt came with a nice surprise... it turned out way bigger that I thought it would, and even big enough to be a bed quilt! (I seriously didn't plan that one!?!) By summer I was able to get the back finished and the quilt basted just before our big move, but as you can imagine, pulling up roots in one spot, and setting them down in another can take some time to get adjusted. By the time I found my sewing table again, there were several quilts that had cut line, and it was hard to pick this back up since it felt that I wasn't really sure where I had left off. But there's nothing like the push of a deadline to put you back on track... aka end of the year Finish-A-Long.

For the backing I used two leftover blocks that didn't make it in the quilt top, and added two blocks of color. Somehow I really wanted a simple backing, and used a good bit of cream Basic Grey grunge fabric for the rest.

I kept the quilting pretty simple by following the extending lines of the blocks. Perhaps if I had stayed on track the whole time with this quilt, then I might have done something a little more creative... do you get that way too, just going with whatever gets the projects done? Well, I suppose that's not all bad because a finished project means getting to start on the next one.
 

Quilt: Pattern: Churnstile from Stitchery Dickory Dock, Churn Dash block from the January Sugar Block Club
Started: February 2016
Fabrics: Alison Glass, Carolyn Friedlander, Cotton & Steel, Lizzy House, and various additional prints from my stash. Low volume with color background fabrics
Finished quilt size: ca. 66 x 82 in. (168 x 208 cm)

...behind the scenes shots are always such fun... can you spot my little helper? 

 
Linking up with Let's Bee Social and 2016 Finish-A-Long