I FINISHED MY LA PASSACAGLIA QUILT!!!!
Cue the music and dancing because this thing took a LOOOOONG time. It all started when I saw a La Passa on Pinterest. I can’t find the original pin but it was the most intricate and beautiful quilt I’d ever seen. It probably wouldn’t have turned into anything except for the fact that within a few short months Ben and I decided to move to rural Alaska and I knew that if I wanted to survive I needed something to do to keep me busy. So before we headed out, I gathered all my supplies, and packed them into my bag. When we got to Alaska, I started sewing.
And now that I’m thinking about it, this quilt’s workings have been around for about as long as this blog, so that’s kind of crazy.
Little did I know this quilt would take us on FOUR cross country moves. It would see me through the pregnancies and births of my two children. It saw us through the completion of Ben’s Master’s program as well as the start of his PhD. It’s been with me through lots and lots.
There were definitely times that I figured I would never finish. And there were more times where I wanted to throw the entire thing into the trash. But I kept going and the quilt is not perfect, by any means, but I’m happy with it in the end.
I look back now and think it’s kind of funny that I figured I could pull this off having never done English Paper Piecing in my life. What was I thinking? But that’s the thing. I was able to do it because I was excited about it. I learned along the way and I think that’s the beauty of it.
I think one of my very favorite things about English Paper Piecing is that it forces me to enjoy the process of sewing. There’s something methodical and soothing about sitting down with fabric in your lap and a needle in your hands. And then every stage is a victory.
Now that it’s done, I’ll be honest, I don’t know exactly what to do with it. I mean, I love the colors. I chose them. But they don’t exactly go with anything in my house. Right now it’s hanging up in my sewing room so I definitely get to see it often. And if I were British I think it would be an appropriate time to say that I’m completely chuffed with it.
The pattern is La Passacaglia from Willyne Hammerstein’s Millefiori Quilts. Most of the fabric was purchased from Quilt etc. in Sandy, UT (my mom, expert on all things quilting, says this has the best selection in that area, and it really does have an incredible selection. If you go, there are two shops and they are across the street from each other. Go to both!). The entire top was pieced by hand and it took me almost exactly 4 years to piece. My mom did the quilting and the binding. I wish you guys could see the quilting in real life because it is totally incredible. The border is gorgeous and she did different patterns across different rosettes. It’s really cool.
I can’t believe it’s done. And yes, I already started my next EPP project…:)
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