The 24 yard quilt

National Quilting Day, weekend or month. It's confusing to know which one it is or is it all of them? Depending on the website you visit some claim monthly, while others claim weekend or day.  Regardless, hope everyone is enjoying on one of their favorite projects.  I've been busy in my studio tackling my UFOs.
I have a crazy story about the Bargello quilt  below that I finally quilted today.   I call it the 24 yard quilt.  Yes you read this right - 24 yards.
Back in 2013 our local quilt shop was offering a class for the bargello quilt.  One of my great quilting friends asked me if I'd join her in this class.  Boy this quilt looked pretty hard, but I love detail and told her I would love to.
We paid for our class and received a discount to purchase our fabric for this class the day.  So we both scoured through the quilt shop to find our fabrics.  The class directions required 2 yards each of 12 fabrics.  My friend went right to the batiks and found 12 green fabrics that coordinated great.  As I looked around the shop everything was pretty picked over.  There were no other batiks to choose from unless I copied my friend, which I wouldn't do.  And greens weren't my colors.  Three employees working that evening could only coordinate together a geometric fabric in the colors of black, gray and lime green.  Definitely not my colors either, but I felt sort of pressured and gave in.
As I brought the fabrics to the cutting table it dawned on me that the directions said I would need 2 yards EACH of 12 fabrics.  That's 24 yards!  How big is this quilt going to end up?  I always go big or go home, but this was crazy!  I questioned that the amount had to be wrong.  This must include the backing, right?  Nope, that would be additional fabric.  I always make queen-size quilts and backing alone usually is around 8 to 9 yards.  As I argued that 24 yards had to be wrong my friend was getting her fabric cut.  After about 30 to 45 minutes of questioning the staff how this amount of  fabric could be possible I gave in and let them cut the fabric.
My friend and I went out into the parking lot and she said to me that she paid over $300 with the discount.  She wasn't paying much attention to what I was saying until she got to the cash register, than her light bulb went on.  My fabric, with my discount, was just shy of $300 and I didn't even like the fabric. To top it off we still had backing to purchase.
We took the class and wow how stunning and simple the bargello is.  My friend's bargello is stunning in the batiks - exactly what she wanted.  My bargello is cool, but the color isn't to my liking.  This is nobodies fault but my own for compromising the purchase.
Well, with our bargello quilts finished - mine a queen-size and my friend's a king-size we both have over a yard left of each of the 12 fabrics. That's 12 yards.   My friend had made pillow shams and a wall hanging to match her quilt, but still has leftover fabric.  I have no idea when I will use all this leftover fabric.  Maybe a baby quilt.  I'm still not sure.
Well here she is - the 24 year quilt:

This quilt looks difficult, but is actually pretty simple.  My
favorite is the swooping rows.

I quilted swooping arches following the fabric colors

We now laugh about the 24 yard quilt, but still are trying to find ways to use up the leftovers.
Happy quilting.