a finished quilt, plus M O V I N G

I finished the first story quilt a few weeks ago.  I quilted it with straight lines at random intervals.  They actually weren't all that straight, and some of them even cross over each other, but I kind of like their imperfect look.

On the back I used this awesome chevron print I found on etsy.  I get most of my fabric on etsy, actually.  I wanted to include an explanation of how to use the quilt on the back... I made a stencil on my Cameo Silhouette, painted it onto some fabric, and then incorporated that block into the back of the quilt.  This was a pretty time consuming process, but I am happy with how it turned out.  For all subsequent story quilts I make, though, I have a more efficient solution.  I had some fabric printed by Spoonflower that says the same thing.  I love how it looks and can't wait to show you on the next quilt!  I added some colorful binding and called it done!  Love it.  Can't wait to send it to its new home.

It's hard to imagine when I might have time to make another quilt.  Life is going to be dominated by one giant project for the foreseeable future, because.....  we are moving!  Nate took a new job in the suburbs of Chicago.  We have wanted to move back to Chicago since the day we left, almost 6 years ago.  So we are excited.  But also sad to leave family and good friends here.  And also overwhelmed by the gigantic task of selling a house and moving.  It's going to be a lot of work.  It already has been a ton of work to get the house ready for showings.  We have had loads of help from family already, and I'm sure we'll need more help before this process is over.  A challenging time ahead of us... lots of work to accomplish, many emotions to sift through, and a new life to create once we reach the other side.  It's really happening!