FAL Finish: Not Socks!!

I've managed to squeeze in a final finish this quarter and it's one which has been languishing on my FAL list since Q1 2015 - I think it had given up all hope of being finished, but I knew I'd get to it one day.  It is item two on my Q3 FAL list and I'm linking up with mere hours to spare!

This is what it looked like at the start of the quarter (and the start of every quarter since Q1 2015!):

The best photo I have of it - a blurry one.  What a surprise!

The reason this made a reappearance on my FAL list (it was finished for the first time in Q2 2014 - here's the 'It's finished!' blog post from then) is because the bobbin thread kept snapping.  Initially, I was going to re-quilt each line (one at a time so I could keep the binding on) with a heavier thread, but the thought really didn't appeal, which is why it has remained untouched for so long.  A couple of weeks ago, I got it out, had another think and decided that I could add quilting in the ditch in the heavier thread to help stabilise the bias stretch and hopefully reduce it enough to stop the original quilting snapping.  (As well as replacing the snapped lines in the original thread - I re-quilted eight in all, I think.)  So I set to using my preferred quilt management system: shoving! I quilted along all the sashing strips and then round the frames of each block - it meant lots of ends to darn in (remember that I left the binding on so had to darn in each and every end!), but it was worth it.  Or, rather, I hope it will be because I don't want this to be on the list for a third time!

The one drawback of the shoving system with my machine is that the reverse tab is right above the needle and the bulk of a quilt quite often pushes the tab back and activates it. Most annoying when you're chugging along and suddenly start going backwards! To combat it, I use a cocktail stick snapped in half (and a bit of washi tape to keep it in place) which means the tab can't go back even if pushed. The washi doesn't leave any residue and the sticks are then put back in the box for next time.  I sometimes have to put a piece of paper/thin card over the sticks (before the washi) to help keep them in place if I'm quilting a very bulky quilt, but it wasn't necessary with this quilt.

Here's what the front looked like once all the extra quilting was done, but before it was washed and dried (something I've not dared do before for fear more threads would snap!):

And here's what it looks like after a go in the washer and then Mam's drier:

The weather has been, um, wet, so inside photos it was given that my preferred fence was soaked and I wasn't about to put a freshly washed quilt on it!

If you peer really closely, you can see the extra quilting lines on the back.  The diagonal lines are the original lines, the horizontal and vertical lines are all new.

You can see the extra quilting lines better in this one

I didn't think I'd say this, but I actually prefer it now!  The extra quilting lines mean it's beautifully crinkled - the extra quilting lines only show on the back so from the front it looks like an extra crinkly quilt, and from the back all the texture from the quilting (in a matching thread - grey on top, aqua on the bottom) show up.

I had help taking the photos:

What the hell are you doing?!

Mini Archie has been climbing the sunflowers:

I knows I looks spiffing up here! And Mr Sun and Mrs Blue Sky comed out specially for I!

Thanks for popping in!  Why not pop over to the finishes link and visit a few people and their finishes?