Crossex

It all started on January 2, 2012, when I made my first x and + block.

I won't lie. I thought it was the coolest little block I'd ever made. I had just discovered badskirt's legendary tutorial and joined the Japanese x and + block swap. I went ahead and swapped one more round a few months later, and eventually had amassed 28 blocks, still hoping to go another round or two. But by February of this year when I saw the x and + along pop up, I decided to dig into my scrap basket and just start making more blocks myself. All along, I was making and collecting the 8" blocks (7 1/2" finished), so I knew I would need plenty - finally settling on 80 as my goal.

In early April, I had 40 blocks done, and they went right to the top of my Quarter 2 Finish-A-Long list. And finally, at long last, I am thrilled to say that IT IS DONE.

We took her to the beach today for the requisite photo op . . .

And it was windy!!

We finally managed a full shot of the front. Doesn't it look like the clothespins are all blowing in the wind?

A pieced backing seemed the perfect choice for this scrappy wonder, and what else but a giant x and + block? Mine measured 45" and I surrounded it with a variety of solids (the largest pieces - on top and bottom - are fat quarters).

For quilting, I used the much-acclaimed Aurifil 40 wt #2600 (light gray), and it was a perfect choice with the wild array of colors. I chose a block in the upper left of the quilt (DS blue and greet polka dot) and began all my quilting from there, stitching out first diagonally along each leg of the 'x', then horizontally and vertically along each edge of the '+'. From there I echo-stitched at 3/4" intervals in each octant (vs. quadrant. I looked it up!) Then I went back and matchstick quilted through that first '+', though with the busy prints, you really can't see that well.

You've figured it out by now, I know, but I was really in a quandary when it came to the binding. After much debate, I did what I wanted to do all along, and bravely used Michael Miller's black and white "clown stripe" ala red pepper quilts. In a word: perfect.

I washed this finish right away, in an over-eager effort to see how it would crinkle up, and it did not disappoint. In fact, if you look at the photo below, you can see that denser strip of quilting down the 'middle'.

I have called this quilt my "x and +" quilt for so long, but it really needs a proper name now, and I've settled on "Crossex", a sort of conglomerate of the original block name. Bringing this long-term wip to a finish provides huge satisfaction. It's been a significant journey, and I have so many of you to thank, considering nearly one-third of the blocks were swapped. So thank you! It's been great fun.

This quilt finished at 60x75", and was on my Q2 FAL list. I'm linking up with the other Q2 finishes at shecanquilt. All photo credit goes to hubby. 

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday.