A good day for washing a quilt

Yesterday was one of those good “laundry” days, fine and sunny, with a nice warm breeze.  So after I’d done the normal wash and hung it outside, I decided to launder my “Memories of Misty” quilt.  Although I have several large bed quilts which I rotate, this is my favourite winter season quilt.  Made with wool batting, it is lovely and cosy.  It was due for a gentle wash, so it would be all ready to keep us warm next winter.

Memories of Misty

Completed back in 2001, this quilt has been well used and loved.  Some of the fabrics have faded a little over the years, but it is still going strong.  I made the quilt to remember our former cat Misty, who lived a full and happy long life of 19 years.  Misty was an attractive large silvery grey cat, rather feisty, knew her own mind, and was very much Robin’s cat.  (There was no way she would lie still and allow us to groom her, as our present cat Muffy does.)  I invited my overseas pen-friends and local quilting friends to make me a block or two and sign their name, so it is also a memory quilt.  Then of course I made all the other blocks needed.

 

The backing is a cat fabric

As it happens,  I have been selling some unwanted quilting things on Trade Me, and have just sold some leftover cat blocks from this quilt.   These have been tucked away in a box all this time, and the colours are so much brighter than my quilt.  Luckily I had a fat quarter of the pink background fabric, plus directions to make extra blocks, if required.  Gail bought them for her 10 year old daughter who loves cats and is just starting to sew.  She is going to sash the blocks in purple, I was told.  Isn’t it great that this young girl is all set to make her first quilt? 

  Extra cat blocks have found a new home

It’s just as well I washed the quilt yesterday, as today would be no good at all for hanging laundry outside on the clothesline.  It’s wet, and damp, and rather miserable today, not quilt washing weather at all.