Honorable Mention

This wasn't the oldest UFO in my collection (I can think of a wallhanging that still needs finishing, started when the boys were mere ... boys), but was pretty darn close.

As near as I can tell, this was started a few years before the turn of the century, making it at least 20 years old. Someone on the RCTQ newsgroup was selling a yummy floral fabric that I fell in love with. I decided to make a reversible quilt, using the yummy floral on one side, and all the chicken fabrics I'd been gifted (or with which I'd gifted myself) on the other. At the time, we were raising chickens so all my friends knew what kind of fabric to give me!

Going back to my GeoCities files, I found this info:

In 2002, this was still listed as a "Work In Progress", but the thumbnail was dated 1998

This is the yummy floral:

and these are the various chicken fabrics (I've given up trying to get these pictures to aligned nicely):

 For each square, I used a piece of flannel as the batting. I think this was the first time I tried the reversible quilt technique, and it wasn't long before I realized what a thorough PITA it was to finish the seams. If you dislike binding a quilt, you'll absolutely HATE this type of quilt construction, because you're basically binding every single seam.

But I persevered and finally finished this bad boy last month. It took 3 washings before it was clean--those squares had the dander of long-dead as well as very-alive pets ground into them. It was well-loved long before it could be called a proper quilt.

And it's mine. All mine.

August 19:
Now it's REALLY done. I started the labeling with the maroony brush pen, and when it became clear that it was past its prime, I started using all the pens to check for viability. These 3 are now in the trash can.