So Satisfying!

There's nothing quite like the feeling you get when you finish a project, particularly when you weren't quite sure you had the requisite skill set to complete said project.  Here we are--quilting project number two:

It's the wall hanging I told y'all about a few weeks ago.  I had to start over from scratch because my needle-turn applique just wasn't up to snuff.  I used a copyrighted pattern, so I won't show you the step-by-step, but here are a few more detailed pictures:

I made this as a wedding gift for my brother-in-law and his bride, so their name is embroidered (using a split stitch for the letters and french knots on the ends of the letters) with the year.  This is is by far my favorite part of the quilt.

I ended up using fusible web to applique the house and the flowers.  I embroidered the date of the wedding on the door where the house number would normally go.  This couple loves their dogs, Lucy and Oliver, so I found some buttons that kinda sorta resemble their pets and included them.

The hardest part: the star blocks.  I hate being so critical, but Ms. Gaddy's instructions were seriously lacking for this portion.  Now that I've made this thing, I would not recommend it for someone who is just starting to quilt.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of patchwork blocks, which is why I was drawn to this particular pattern, which seemed to be primarily an applique quilt.  The instructions indicated I should cut a certain number of 1 1/2" half square triangles for the star blocks.  Being the novice that I am, I assumed that meant I should cut 1 1/2" squares, and cut them in half on the diagonal.  Wrong.  I ended up watching a flying geese tutorial on YouTube and adapting it to suit my needs.  My wonderful husband came in handy for the conversions.

For those of you who know me, you're probably doing a double-take at my fabric choice for the backing.  (I really, really, really don't like the chevron trend that just won't die.) It's my first "designer" fabric purchase: a moda print I bought at a quilt shop on vacation last week.  As you can see, I decided not to make a personalized label, but I went with a little generic iron-on label I bought at Hobby Lobby.  

Overall, I'm very pleased with the result.  A seasoned sewer or quilter can probably tell that this is the first time I've ever used binding, etc., but I'm proud of my work and can't wait to improve with practice.