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20.11.15:   5 blocks, 166 pieces
30.12.15: 16 blocks, 510 pieces
10.01.16: 30 blocks, 1.118 pieces

Wow - that's a bunch of 85 blocks!

85 blocks are finished (the last one was still on the ironing board), now I had to arrange them.

I don't aim for arranging them as in Salina Rupps quilt. There are several blocks with similar patterns and of course a lot of blocks are made by the same fabric. I don't want either of them laying too close to each other.

This is the result (on the photo the blocks lay next to each other, my floor is not big enough):

Now I can start to add the sashing!

Oh dear, it was a lot of work. It was easy and fast work to sew the short strips (6,5x2,5 inch) to the blocks. I starched every single sashing before I sew it.
But these long long strips! The two longest strips measured 90 inches. I starched them too, of course. But still, a lot of work.

I marked the long strips (even the short ones with 24 inches) to make sure I did not stretch them during the actual sewing, I used the Sewline Chalk marker.  And I pinned the strips to the blocks (pinning always means using the red Clover-Wonder-clips; I can't quilt without them). And then I pressed the strips/blocks. And pinned. And sewed. And pressed. And added the side-triangles. There was no end....
But finally it was done!!!

Insane!
The top finished at 80x80 inches. I added the border (again pinning endless strips). I decided not to add a pieced border, otherwise the quilt would've become way too big.

And now the top is really finished, I can hardly believe it. I started making the first blocks in November 15 and finished the top March 17th 2016.

Yeaaahhhh!

For the record:
4.312 pieces for 85 blocks
     72  short sashing-strips
     12  long sashing-strips
     24  side-triangles 
       4  corner-triangles
       4  border-strips
________________________
= 4.428 pieces for the top

By the way - I used 8 meters of the green fabric, only for the top. Incredible! There's about a half meter left.

I had ordered more fabric in February (I was lucky, they still had it). This became the middle-strip of the backing.

This time I sewed the label before I finished the binding. And I included the label in the middle-strip of the backing, so it can't tear off later. For the label I made again block 40, this time with various fabric-scraps.

I choose a purple thread for the top and a blue one for the bottom. We discussed the pattern and went for simple swirls.

I can pick up the quilt at the end of May.

It's finished!

And so beautiful -

Helga Polifka in Sarnau did a great job.
The quilt turned out exactly as I imagined it. No extra quilting on the sashings, no extra quilting on the blocks. Just a plain overall swirl-pattern on the whole quilt and the border.

The blocks are really swimming on the green background.

I still have to decide the colour of the binding - green or scraps of purple/pinc or blue (the backing-fabric).

And when everything is done we'll have a photo-session outside on a sunny day!!

And here are some details of the quilt-pattern:

Omigod, that quilt is so beautiful!

The binding -
for this insane quilt I decided to cut the binding on the bias for the first time in my life.

Shelley Rodgers wrote a perfect tutorial for it, with a table for yardage for each length and width. You can find the tutorial here.

I followed the tutorial without looking or thinking - but I admit that I had enough of the blue fabric to cut the binding on the straight of grain in case I failed.

But I did not fail - Shelleys instructions are so easy to understand that I just show my photos here.

And there it is - washed and dried in all its glory!