City Sampler Quilt Top Completed

My City Sampler quilt top is complete. Getting a picture of this 90" square quilt isn't the easiest thing but I think I managed to do okay.  I sashed my 100 City Sampler blocks in a no-name linen-like fabric I found at the Fabric Place Basement.  Deciding on the best fabric to sash these blocks was a real challenge: I didn't want to choose anything that would overcome or blend into any of the blocks and I was pretty determined to not redo any of the blocks. I am happy with my choice of this tan textured fabric that shouldn't give me any trouble when the quilt is washed, it is 100% cotton.

Sewing all of the blocks into the sashing was definitely tedious but I think I did well at lining it all up pretty neatly thanks to the tips contained in this video on row alignment from Fons and Porter.  I chose the gridlock pattern in the book because it does a great job of showing off the blocks- it's simple with no distractions.

When I layed out the blocks, I decided to not worry too much about orienting all of the awesome motifs to create a "top" to the quilt.  I love being able to put a quilt on my bed and not worrying that it is "upside down" or whatever.  I paid close attention to dispersing the colors as well as the shapes to achieve balance.

Here's a mosaic of some more of my favorite blocks.  I had a lot of fun mixing up Salt Water and Prince Charming with my stash.

This was the hardest one:

This was the easiest:

Here's my most favorite:

Here's an indoor shot of the top:

I usually don't do scrappy pieced backs but this quilt simply called for it.  It's fun to see the Tula motifs on the larger scale.  I also snuck in a scrappy slab made from scraps- I wish I had the time/patience to make the whole quilt back like that, but that's a project for another day.

Linking up with Sew Sweetness (check out the other City Sampler tops - they're all gorgeous!) and Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday: