Holy Sh*t, Sherlock! (Part 2)

Earlier this year, I wrote Part 1 of this quilt's journey and I'm happy to report there actually is a Part 2, because I finally...yes, finally finished my Holy Sh*t, Sherlock quilt.  WooHoo!!!

When I first introduced the quilt top back in January it was an awkward size (60" x 100"); and while I knew more blocks were needed; I had run out of time, fabric and honestly...steam.

Yet, when the St. Louis Science Center invited me and my Holy Sh*t, Sherlock quilt to their First Friday: The Science of Sherlock Holmes event on November 7th, it gave me the perfect excuse to finish the quilt...and sometimes that is exactly what I need, a hard deadline.


Holy Sh*t Sherlock Quilt


This past weekend with the pressure on, I finished the remaining blocks needed to make the quilt, bringing my final total to 2389 pieces. Yet, what I was dreading the most was the actual quilting. Early on, I assumed that I would quilt simple vertical lines using a neutral thread, as I had done on The Tenth; but the more that I looked at the Sherlock quilt, I wasn't feeling it. So, I made a test block and tried a meandering stitch using matching thread; which of course looked amazing on the small test block; but what would it look like on the quilt itself?

Seven hours later, I had my answer - AMAZING!!!!




While the actual design of the quilt certainly helped (large blocks of color, shadowing, etc), I was so glad that I challenged myself and actually succeeded, that's a Win-Win in my book.

With only a few days to spare, my Mom hand-sewed the binding and I added the hanging sleeve just in time for Holy Sh*t, Sherlock to make it's debut at the Science Center on Friday.  I could not have asked for a more perfect location to display my quilt, as they placed me next to a crime scene they setup as advertisement for the International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes.




Now I know some of you might be wondering...Okay, she's made two pixel quilts, is there another in her future.  Well at this point, I don't see that happening.  I have a short-list of other characters I would love to immortilize in tiny pieces of fabric; but I also feel like I need to stop while I'm ahead.

--Kristy