I honestly was beginning to wonder if I would
ever complete this quilt. Choosing the fabrics (all from my stash) was a breeze and even the cutting and sewing of the top took me about a week. The real time eater was quilting the huge thing!
I decided I was going to save some money and not rent time on the long arm to finish it - I wish I had just spent the $50! But instead, I decided to quilt it at home using straight lines and the edge of my walking foot as a guide = about 1/4" to 3/8" apart! It turned into some very dense quilting. I started doing this in the beginning of October and barely finish it about a week ago.
Throughout this past fall, I had to force myself to work on it - making myself do a column a day. Each column required more than a full bobbin's worth of thread. I ran into a major problem when I had about 13 columns left: the top wasn't as tightly basted to the batting and backing - so I had to rebaste it
twice (the first time, I didn't do it right and ended up spending an inordinate amount of time with the seam ripper!).
Enough of my sob story about this headache! I will say that I am very happy with hot it came out and the straight line quilting does look pretty good - adding a whole new element to the project. The whole quilt is quite a departure from what I normally do - using a lot of neutrals is not very common in my work.
The quilt measures about 90" x 108" or so. I bound it in the perfect Moda bliss white on red dot and backed it in some Prince Charming baby paisley. It contains many of my favorite fabrics: KJR ribbon flower, AMH Cathedral in dusk, Her Crusier (red bike fabric) for Avalon, and Park Slope leaf dot. I based the quilt design on the famous Strips and Brick pattern by Malka Dubrawsky.
This will probably be my last finish of 2011. My 2 year old hasn't slept through the night for the past 5 days and hasn't had a proper nap in that time period either. Dealing with this at nearly 8 months pregnant has been
unbearable! I will finish the year out with some 2011 wrap-up posts as well as sharing some pictures of some fabric goodies I received for Christmas. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holidays!
I decided I was going to save some money and not rent time on the long arm to finish it - I wish I had just spent the $50! But instead, I decided to quilt it at home using straight lines and the edge of my walking foot as a guide = about 1/4" to 3/8" apart! It turned into some very dense quilting. I started doing this in the beginning of October and barely finish it about a week ago. 
Throughout this past fall, I had to force myself to work on it - making myself do a column a day. Each column required more than a full bobbin's worth of thread. I ran into a major problem when I had about 13 columns left: the top wasn't as tightly basted to the batting and backing - so I had to rebaste it twice (the first time, I didn't do it right and ended up spending an inordinate amount of time with the seam ripper!). 
Enough of my sob story about this headache! I will say that I am very happy with hot it came out and the straight line quilting does look pretty good - adding a whole new element to the project. The whole quilt is quite a departure from what I normally do - using a lot of neutrals is not very common in my work.
The quilt measures about 90" x 108" or so. I bound it in the perfect Moda bliss white on red dot and backed it in some Prince Charming baby paisley. It contains many of my favorite fabrics: KJR ribbon flower, AMH Cathedral in dusk, Her Crusier (red bike fabric) for Avalon, and Park Slope leaf dot. I based the quilt design on the famous Strips and Brick pattern by Malka Dubrawsky.
This will probably be my last finish of 2011. My 2 year old hasn't slept through the night for the past 5 days and hasn't had a proper nap in that time period either. Dealing with this at nearly 8 months pregnant has been unbearable! I will finish the year out with some 2011 wrap-up posts as well as sharing some pictures of some fabric goodies I received for Christmas. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holidays!
5 comments:
It's absolutely beautiful! And the straight line quilting is awesome. You are a braver soul than I, as much as I love the look I don't think I could ever have the perseverance.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy. I wish you some restful nights - my now two year old did that to me when I was in the middle of first trimester fatigue with her sister. I think I cried every day until she decided to sleep again!
Wow, this came out beautifully!!! The quilting really makes it! I feel your pain... endless rows of straight line quilting get so tedious. Hopefully it's like childbirth, you forget all the pain when you see the end result; )
Beautiful quilt - love the colours and the straight line quilting is perfect!!!
Gorgeous quilt. I admire your dedication!
Hi, A while since you posted this but I have been searching for a pattern for this quilt. Finally found an online copy I can purchase but before I do I want to check your thoughts on whether I need to buy a walking foot to do the straight line quilting? I would be adjusting the pattern to make a single bed quilt & would only quilt the lines within every second row as the original seems to do. I have a pretty good Husqvarna Viking machine, and have tinkered with free motion quilting, but am still playing with this new craft avenue. Thanks!
OneLittleImp
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