Jesse's Quilt, the Summer Sampler Plus Quilt

It's going to be really hard to say goodbye to this quilt, but it's going to such a wonderful home, I think somehow I'll find the strength to do it.  Jesse, if you are reading this post, STOP NOW!  I will be very upset if you ruin this surprise (but I'm fairly sure you have been so busy that you haven't read my blog in eons, but I forgive you!).

When Lee, Katie and Faith started up the Summer Sampler Series, the blocks immediately spoke to me and made me think of my husband's best friend, Jesse.  The two of them have been best buds since they were little kids, growing up in the same small town in Connecticut, and despite the many, many miles between them now, they're still quite close.   Jesse comes to visit us at least once every year and has become my munchkin's favorite uncle.  He's a special part of our family, and when I saw the geometric blocks in the Summer Sampler, they just said "Jesse" to me.

Jesse's the one on the left, hamming it up with my husband at our wedding

After I finished my blocks, I just didn't quite feel done.  I knew I could add sashing to add size to the quilt, but I just felt like I wanted to have more blocks for the quilt, so I decided to ask my awesome 4x5 beehive to help me out and add some extra blocks to the quilt.

All said and done, after adding my 4x5 blocks, I still needed 3 more to make the quilt as large as I wanted, so I put together one Japanese x and + block, one block made of four snowballs, and one rail fence block that I bordered with some white and extra blue.  I stitched them all together, and the quilt just felt more complete.  

I debated adding a border to the quilt, to give it some extra size, but ultimately decided against it.  I was too excited about a geometric doodle style of quilting I'd come up with to go along with Jesse's love for all things geometric.  I was nervous about trying something new, and in hindsight, I totally should've practiced on a practice quilt sandwich first, but I worried that I would lose my determination to do something different if I stopped to really think about it, so I jumped in and went for it.

 

I free-motioned groups of  interconnected boxes, which remind me of little labyrinths or mazes, stitching down the length of the quilt.  It was definitely more fun for me than straight-line quilting, but it also wasn't as precise as I like to be.  In the end, I'm happy I did something different, but I definitely need more practice.

I'll be shipping this gift off real soon for the holidays...before I decide I can't part with it!  I know Jesse will give this quilt a good home, and I hope it will remind him of us throughout the year.

Quilt Stats
Name: Jesse's Quilt
Size: 48" x 60"
Fabrics: Kona Peacock, Kona Lagoon, Kona Bahama Blue, Kona Aqua, Kona Charcoal, Kona Medium Gray, Kona Ash, Patty Young's Sanctuary, Jenean Morrison's Silent Cinema, Moda Hullabaloo Hoopla Aqua, Moda Modern Workshop Dots Artisan Aqua, and more
Binding: Moda's Little Apples Sweater Check in Pencil by Aneela Hoey
Quilting: Doodle boxes, quilted by me on my Husqvarna Sapphire 835 in white thread

I'm linking up with {Sew} Modern Monday today, hop on over there to see more recent modern quilting finishes!