The Harry Potter quilt

One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Portland was to hand deliver Matt's birthday present to him, albeit a few days early.  Late last year when I was perusing Instagram I saw a notice for a Harry Potter quilt-a-long starting in January. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to do it for Matt.  Between the Harry Potter theme and the Lego-like appearance of the blocks it just made me think of him.

I also know that I'm great at starting projects but not so great at finishing projects so I had to make myself a firm deadline and what deadline is firmer than non-refundable flight tickets? I made sure that Matt and Sherlyn would be home for Labor Day weekend and then I started the project.

The patterns came out weekly and I kept up fairly well. Some worked up quickly; some did not. The flying Ford Anglia in the whomping willow sorely tried my patience but I finally got it done. I'm not really pleased with the way the quilting turned out. It's Harry Potter motifs (sorting hat, Hedwig, wand, glasses, broom, etc) but I feel like it distracts a bit from the blocks up close. Oh well, it is what it is.

Overall I'm happy with the outcome and think Matt liked it too. I call him  Hagrid at times because of the big bushy beard. One day when Zoë was here we were watching a Harry Potter movie. She walked in the room as a closeup of Hagrid appeared on the screen. She shouted excitedly, "Matt! Friend! Matt!"  It was adorable.