Quilt: 8 Days in May

So it's taken me a few days to get the photos snapped...but if I am being honest, I will blame it all on Mother Nature.  We've been having such damp and humid weather lately...and it seems like we finally saw the sun late this afternoon for the first time in ages – or at least since Sunday. 

As soon as I got home from work tonight, I quickly grabbed the quilt and the camera, went back outside and snapped away....carefully laying it in the grass, running up and down the stairs to snap and adjust.  Of course things are rarely so simple.   Imagine my surprise when I came inside and tried to download all of my carefully snapped photos.....and there were none!  Now I will admit that I noticed the "no memory card" flashing on the screen, but I also kept hearing the camera 'snapping' the images...and assumed that the photos were being stored on some internal memory.  Note to self (and anyone else who is a foolish as me): no memory card = no memory card.   Even if the camera sound effects are identical to when it is actually taking photos.  Even if you think it might should be working.  Even if you are just too much in a hurry to take 20 seconds to come inside and grab one.   Get. The. Card.

So what to do?  After I had inserted a SD card, I headed back out....and not wanting to repeat everything a second time, I changed locations and layouts, and here are some of the actual snaps.  I have no idea if they are better or worse than the first lot...but they are okay.  And the whole episode has had zero effect on how much I love my quilt.  Nor has it managed to put a halt to all of the fantasy quilt planning and piecing I've been indulging in for the last week...

Random Details....

• The front was based on this tutorial (with modifications, since I didn't really have pieces fabric wide enough to begin with complete squares).  Blocks were 10" finished, so dimensions are 100" by 80" wide.
• I made all of the wonky cross blocks and pieced the front first, before starting work on the back.  The back is totally a improv, fly-by-the-seat of my pants creation.  But it worked!  :-)
• I had purchased 3-4 fabric bundles and three .5m pieces and a larger 2m piece (the dark grey floral paisley) of Tana Lawn right at Liberty, on my trip to London in Fall 2011.  Of all of the random pieces in the bundles I only avoided using one (waaay too white - and even though I am learning lights are my friend, this piece was 'lit from within'). 
• Most of the bundle leftovers were used up in the gradation on the quilt back.  I have still some larger pieces of the cut yardage remaining and a few scraps of the dark grey remain (I also used it for binding the edge).  
• When I decided that I wanted to use all Liberty, I did some research online and discovered that the most practical (and cost-effective) source was the Workroom in Toronto.  I called to inquire about their current inventory (in May - there are some truly gorgeous prints that arrived recently) and picked the cream/grey/sage Pepper for the light half of the back (which ended up being about as perfect as thought I had planned it IMHO).  Very pleasant to deal with, speedy service, and a very fair price (£22 = $36.08 at current exchange rates (UK price at Liberty store) vs. $32 (Cdn price at the Workroom).