An Embroidered Oasis

Well, so much for my thoughts of "oasis." Blogger flipped the pictures on their ear. arg!

Let's see if I can return to the serene state in which I started. (And if you believe that, with Show Week beginning in 3 days, there's this bridge I have for sale...) :)

Anyway, a friend of my sister's is moving away. Not just away away, she's moving to Scotland. Aye, Lassie, the one in the UK. It's quite a move, and she can't take everything with her. One of the "can't takes" is a quilt that her mother purchased 15 years ago.

If you've been quilting for very long, you've probably seen one like this. It's a 48 states quilt, featuring the states and their flowers. K remembered that I had some sort of interest in quilts. One thing led to another, and this beauty arrived on my doorstep yesterday.

The embroidery is beautifully done. The quilting? Not the best, but not bad either. And the quilt is in perfect condition. Some of the flowers appear to be faded, but I'm wondering if the maker just used very pale threads. There doesn't seem to be any sun damage to speak of, and many of the other colors are still quite vibrant. I like Kansas. :)

The final detail that I'm captivated by is the fine blue scalloped binding. Personally? I wouldn't put such contrast in my binding - it would be too noticeable if I made any mistakes. But this quilter had no qualms about that. She chose vivid blue, scalloped the border, and put on a binding that I would be satisfied with.

When all is said and done, I'm glad no one answered K's Craig's List ad. I had no intentions of buying a quilt this week, but I'm more than happy to give this one a home...