Jonathan's KA Quilt

I got extremely over-zealous when planning Christmas gifts for my family this year. Back in October I decided that I would make quilts for both my parents and my two younger brothers. At the time I figured it would be a breeze to get them all done by Christmas...but I didn't exactly factor in school work, my job, or life getting in the way of sewing. So this year for Christmas I gave my family members their very own quilt tops!!! (with the promise of a finished quilt within the next few months) Aren't they so lucky? But really - I can't do everything.

I had sinus surgery on December 27, and by the 31st I was ready to start quilting again. My brother, Jonathan, really wanted me to finish his quilt in time for him to take it back to college. How can you refuse someone who wants a handmade quilt from his favorite sister?!? Well, I couldn't.

Jonathan is a senior in college and a member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. When brainstorming ideas for his quilt I decided that it had to have a KA influence. I googled images of the organization and decided that the flag would make a perfect quilt design! And so, Jonathan's KA Quilt was born. I chose to use patchwork squares in a variety of fabrics. Here is a picture of the finished quilt top. (Sorry the lighting is so terrible!) Jonathan's favorite fabric is the white with red sailboats - I was hoping he would like that! :)

My first try at basting! I probably could have pinned more frequently, but overall it was much easier than I had envisioned. Dare I say it - basting was actually relaxing!! I used my machine to quilt straight-ish lines following the same checker pattern as the patchwork. 

And here I am with the finished product!! I finished this quilt on January 1, 2012 ... hope this foreshadows my quilting habits for the rest of the year. ;) I finished this quilt the day before I headed back to Maryland - and just in time for Jonathan to take it back to school. Yippee!