3:55:34

Not as fast as I had hoped, but not bad either. It's a whole week later now and my legs still aren't right!

The City Dreams Quilt

Nothing like a tight deadline to make me actually finish a project for a change! I made this quilt as a gift from our lab to the wonderful Erika, who left us to return to her homeland, Mexico, on the 31st of October.

It was inspired by this quilt. The maps (New York, Paris, London, Tokyo) are actually handkerchiefs, from Muji. The idea was to make something that would remind Erika of her time in New York... but because she's an incredible scientist who is sure to go far, I thought that including the other cities was appropriate; if she hasn't been there yet, she will go soon!

The process was really quite simple. As recommended by Abby, I trimmed the edges from the handkerchiefs before framing them with 1 inch of Kona Cotton in Coral (also used for the binding), and 1.25 inches of Kona Cotton in Coal. The sashing is Kona Cotton in Putty.

Because it was going to Mexico, I decided not to use any batting in the quilt, but backed it with flannel (from an Erin McMorris line). Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the back! Finally, I quilted it with simple straight lines, 6 inches apart.

Erika was very happy with it, which made me very happy! And doesn't Simon make a great quilt model?!

Tomorrow is the marathon!! I'm feeling pretty nervous but I'm sure it'll be great. Especially the post-marathon rehydration pub session! Must go pack my bags... and make sure all the alarm clocks are set - I have a painfully early start, even with the hour going back. Keep your fingers crossed for me!