TBT - Cambridge Blues

It's time for another edition of Throwback Thursday!  So sorry for missing last week, but I'm back and hopefully going to keep better track of my calendar :)  Please join me this week (see links at the bottom) and show off one of your earlier projects.

Back in the late 00's, theQuilt.com ran a charity auction every year, and all proceeds went to cancer support services.  Every year, I tried to ensure I had a quilt to send to them, and usually I tried to use Northcott's "Quest for  Cure" fabric line, because that seemed appropriate for the theme of the auction.

In July of 2009, some of the local quilt shops hosted a shop hop. As part of that, they each sold a kit for 1 part of a mystery quilt. The shop hop was a "Quest for a Cure" shop hop, and the mystery quilt was made from fabric from Northcott's Quest for a Cure "Cambridge Square - Blue" fabric line.

Following a 3 year tradition, I decided to participate in the mystery, and donate the resulting quilt to thequilt.com. I had donated a quilt every year for the previous 3, and always tried to use at least some fabric from Northcott's current "Quest for a Cure" collection in the quilt I donated. So, this was a perfect starting point for my next donation, and I picked up all the kits on my tour.

Unfortunately, the first 2 parts of the mystery which I attempted were both short on fabric. A rather disappointing start. I debated my options: give it up as a lost cause; purchase an additional fat quarter of each of the 6 fabrics I was (so far) short on; or try to make something from what I had. I chose option 3. I gave up on the "mystery" aspect, and pulled out all the fabric and directions for the quilt. With a bit of creativity, I rearranged the colour scheme into something that was mostly achievable with the provided fabric. I picked up one extra matching fat quarter, and continued on my way.

In the end I was quite pleased with the result. I ended up modifying the layout somewhat, but the changes from the original design are hardly noticeable if you don't have the original in front of you. The shop hop was a lot of fun - it was one of my first, and introduced me to some new stores in town. It also gave me an excuse to spend a day with a quilting friends, which is always a good time :)  

This quilt was quilted on my domestic machine with a meandering pattern, and then sent off to theQuilt.com for the 2009 auction.  

The rules are simple (and flexible :) ). Write a post (or revive an old one) about an old quilt or project that you have - maybe something from your pre-blogging days, or just a project you love that you want to show off again. Please include a link back to this post in yours, and when you link up make sure you are linking to your specific blog post, not just your blog address. You want to make sure people can find your post if they drop by the linkup later.

Add your link, and check out some of the other links for some inspiration. See my sidebar for a TBT button you can add to your blog.