My first quilt (and more)

In case I haven't mentioned it, our entire house is in turmoil. My son got married last weekend and he and his bride are moving in with us until his teaching job goes full-time. We're excited to have them here, and it was a great excuse to clean out two bedrooms, a closet, a bathroom, a dining room, and more. We've touched nearly everything that we own in the last few weeks including the first quilt I ever made:



I strip-pieced and hand-quilted this quilt when my son was in grade school.

He was a huge NY Knicks fan, hence the blue and orange and basketball quilting motif:



I loved the large white quilt blocks that would showcase my quilting:



I quilted an unbroken chain in the borders:



The basketballs (and batting) have gone flat. The chain (and quilting threads) have been broken. This quilt went everywhere with my son. It's been to Mexico a few times and even to the Ukraine.

We visited the quilt at college for Thanksgiving my son's freshman year and realized the quilt had outlived it's usefulness. The binding was in tatters and the quilt was a worn, thin, dingy mess. I rushed home to make him a replacement quilt for Christmas.

I found the same pattern, but chose Ohio State University colors and music-themed fabrics. I made sure that the four-patches met diagonally and made a secondary pattern. I quilted this one by machine:



This quilt was completed in three weeks and is not fancy, but took my son through the next 3-1/2 years of school. It's going in my his linen closet now.