I finally quilted my AMH Feathers baby quilt. It took me a while to do this because I couldn't find the right shade of blue thread. I really wanted it to be a tone on tone look. For the first time, I used some fancy Aurifil thread that I purchased at a recent quilt show. It worked well.
I was attempting Angela Walter's swirls and hardly came close but I am fine with how it came out.
I backed it with one of my favorite Loulouthi prints and bound it with an FMF Legacy print. I have a friend who just had a baby girl but I am not sure it's her style. I may show her a few girly quilts I have lying around and let her choose her favorite.
I put together this Harry Potter quilt top really quickly. Originally I was going to approach the project improvisationally but nixed that idea after realizing that that might make me waste a lot of fabric and also would be more difficult to finish it at my desired size. With some really simple math, I figured out how to surround the panel in an organized and efficient way and I still achieved the "scattered stars" look that I was aiming for.
(the top is not as crooked as it looks- it was just difficult to hang on my design wall by myself)
This is definitely the first time you will see fabric with glitter on my blog and probably the last.
I am concerned about the quilting: I kind of want to use the computerized longarm at Laurena's but sewing really dark thread on Harry's face would probably not look so good. I am also not very confident about my ability to free-motion quilt this either- I know someone with serious skills would have a blast with this panel but I am such a novice at these things! Any suggestions?
And if I can ask my readers one more favor: what are your thoughts on using a new flat sheet as the backing for this quilt? Normally I never use bedding sheets as quilt backings but I have nothing else in my stash that matches and after fessing up to recent purchases, I really am on a serious fabric diet now. I could use random stuff from my stash that has no resemblance to this Harry Potter theme (it would be "quilt shop quality" but we're talking fabric like rainbow stripes, whispy grey flowers on a pink background, etc.) or go with the sheet. Which is the worst quilting sin? It's not like this is going to be a treasured heirloom but I hate to pour time and energy into something I may be very unhappy with.
7 comments:
I am drooling over that feathers quilt, Laurie, that came out so so well!
I say go for it with the bedsheet!
Feathers quilt looks awesome. Nice blue/aqua background. Your quilting looks great!
Love the harry potter quilt too. Its great with the stars scattered allover.
I have that same panel! I just used it by itself... wasn't as clever as you are! I quilted around Harry and I would personally FMQ stars in the rest of the quilt. Nice job!!! Also, I backed mine with ticking stripe flannel.
Your Feathers quilt is beautiful. I love the Harry Potter quilt. I have quilted, both by hand & with a domestic sewing machine, several quilts that used good quality cotton sheets as backing, & haven't had a single issue with them. Other than the fact that *some* longarm machines can be a bit persnickety with sheets, I have yet to figure out what the big problem is with using sheets as backing. Honestly, I'd rather use a sheet that matches & works with the quilt than a piece of backing that kinda looks like an afterthought, especially with something that looks as nice as your HP quilt.
The Harry Potter is great! I'm glad you asked the sheet question, I've been wondering about that too..
Use the sheet. It's your quilt!
That feather quilt is awesome. Don't beat yourself up over the swirls, those take a while to perfect. I still have issues with spacing and making consistent swirls.
As for the backing, I say go with the sheet. You'll be happier with the final product.
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