Beach blanket bingo...

It's very rare that I start and finish a quilt in one fell swoop -- that is, cut, pieced, quilted and bound without starting in on another project first. Typically, I get through the piecing phase and then bounce off to something else (and something else, and something else...) and don't get back to the actual quilting and finishing until, say, two days before I have to deliver it. So I don't know why this one was an exception.

If I overanalyze the process that went into this, I might find a cure for my Crafter's A.D.D. -- and that would ruin my creativity forever! I won't even begin to think about it.

Anyway, here's the quilt. And Lea, if you're reading, you might want to stop now, because this is your Christmas present.

My sister-in-law Lea loves purple and orange together. So rather than impose these big bold prints on the interior design of their house (which is most decidedly not purple and orange), I made the family a beach blanket. They have a vacation home high on a bluff above Lake Michigan near Ludington, MI, where they spend most of their summers hanging out on the sand.

Nothing fancy, I used 10" alternating blocks in fun "Finlandia" Merimekko-like Free Spirit prints that I've had hanging around for a few years just waiting for this kind of project. I put rock pockets in the corners and bound it with my favorite bright green-on-green print. For some reason, I just love this orange/purple/green color combination!

The back is from the same fabric line, though I stitched down some green squares here and there so the binding wouldn't come as such a shock.

It's a happy quilt, destined for some happy times. And finished more than a month before it's due!

To celebrate the rarity of a quilt conceived and completed well inside its deadline, I'm having my first-ever giveaway! I'm offering a yard of each of these gargantuan "Finlandia" prints (floral, squiggle and boxes, three yards total...and OK, they're big, but not "gargantuan," I just like that word) to a lucky reader who has left me a comment since I started this blog (and today doesn't count, sorry).

Just leave a comment and let me know what your favorite Thanksgiving side dish is. And thank you for all your responses over the past sixteen months -- it really is nice to know someone's actually reading my words and they aren't just dissipating into the blogosphere! Entries will be accepted through this Wednesday and the winner picked (randomly or, perhaps the one with the best-sounding side dish? Who knows?) at noon on Black Friday. One entry per person, please.

My first giveaway! I'm getting all excited about picking a winner already!