Stairway to Cat Heaven Quilt Complete!

Finally, my quilt is done!  Actually I finished it a week ago but didn't have anyone around to help me take some good outdoor shots.  Below is the winning one.

Here she is!

Here is the backing.

Close up...you can actually see some of the quilting stitches!

And a close up of my "label."  I had a couple of leftover stars from the borders, so I thought this was a perfect use for them.

It's been a fun journey making this quilt.  When I started it I was killing time during my final quarter of college.  I had to rent a car just to get to the quilt shop to pick out my fabrics.  This was the first quilt (and really first project at all) that I made with my own sewing machine, which I received as a graduation present when I got my bachelor's degree in 2010.

I drew out this very shoddy version of the design on my computer to test out different color and border ideas.

During this period I was in a teeny tiny graduate housing apartment.  My room was a little hovel with this horrible slanted roof, like a bad attic room.  It had no overhead lights.  (And this was in the brand new dorm!  What they were thinking not putting any overhead lights in the bedrooms I just do not know).  I actually sewed many of these nine-patch squares by sitting on the floor and placing my machine in front of me on a crate.

Here is the background assembled.  I had to lay it out on a sheet because the floor in that apartment was not to be trusted.

And here it is with the borders being assembled. (This time I think I vacuumed really well before putting it down).

I finished the quilt top shortly before graduation, then set it aside while I dealt with finding a place to both live and work.

Now, pretty much a full year after the quilt top was first assembled, I have my own sewing area in my own apartment, and a car to take me to the shop whenever I want.  I've worked very hard on my FMQ and was able to free motion quilt this entire piece, something I absolutely wouldn't have been able to do a year ago.  It's been a fun journey to make this quilt and to think back on how much I've grown as both a quilter and a person since I first started it!