I have my first big quilt finish of the year to share with you today - it's my Gypsy Wife quilt. I started this as part of the quilt-along hosted by @GnomeAngel back in the summer and decided to go totally scrappy for the blocks and low volume for the background.This was the recipe I had used for my Long Time Gone quilt and I love it. After a few blocks, I decided I didn't like it this time. We had to take Mia into A&E one Sunday (nothing serious) and while we sat in the waiting room, she played on her tablet, and I coloured in a print-out of the quilt - can't go wrong with a rainbow. And I started again. Of course, I was well behind, and I stayed that way unfortunately. Even in the week after Christmas, I still believed I could make it - a finished quilt top by the 2nd January. I spent a few hours cutting all the background strips (what a job... not just the cutting, but keeping them organised)! But I had to give in. There was just too much to do and definitely not enough time. So the 2nd January passed. I still had some blocks to make and the construction of the quilt itself looked like quite the task. It was my birthday at the end of January, and for the first time in my life, I treated myself by taking a couple of days off work. Two whole days to sew - uninterrupted! Which was exactly what I needed to get this quilt done. I managed to get all the blocks pieced and a couple of the sections together ahead of my two golden days. But let me tell you, this quilt, and the construction part in particular, is not for beginners. It really stretched me - working out what seam to sew next, knowing I had some partial seams, and just making sure my layout was spot on. It was so much more fun than boring sashing! By the end of day 1 I had a finished quilt top, and that evening, at our local quilt group, I got it basted. The next day I set up the machine to free motion quilt and 3 hours later it was done. I quilted it with an all-over free motion stipple with cream thread on the front and pale green on the back. The backing is a duvet cover from Dunelm and I love the large scale of it. I pulled all the dark greys from my stash and cut myself a scrappy binding and by 3pm the quilt was finished! How very efficient! My birthday quilt! With the exception of the wadding, every piece of fabric in this quilt came from my stash. I made a vow this year to try fussy cutting, and I'm pretty pleased with the odd piece I included - I especially love the telephone. I also love that my quilt has "pissed" on it! Wonder how long it will take my mum to notice that! It's just such a happy, rainbowy quilt! I'm sad I couldn't get it done in time for the end of the quilt along, but I had a ball putting it together in peace and on my birthday! This is a finish from my Finish Along list, which you can find here.