Breaking the Rules

There are always lessons to be learned and wishes for doing things differently afterwards - even in the quilting world. This quilt project forced me to break some rules in order to get it done.Two very important rules:

1. Make sure you have enough fabric to finish the quilt as directed on the pattern!

Yeah, I missed that one. I loved the large print I chose for this quilt and used fabrics that coordinated nicely...except I did not have enough of the large print fabric! I went ahead anyway with the hopes I could squeeze and conserve the fabric to make it stretch. It did not, so I had to use a close match as an alternative in the sashings. If you look closely, you may notice the center pieces are just a little off. 

 2. Make sure you have enough fabric to finish the quilt AND use 100% cotton fabrics only.


Not only was the large print fabric short, but I also ran short on the green solid. I guess I could have used the alternative fabric I mentioned above for the binding but I was really stuck on the solid green.

Do you know how hard it is to find an exact match of a solid color of fabric? The closest I could come up with was a polyester-cotton blend. Ugh! There is a big difference in handling this type of fabric but I got through it and am satisfied that it is now completed. 

Here, she is hanging on the design wall ready to be sent out to my long-arm quilter. I chose a soft white backing that is so smooth and soft. 100% cotton, of course. "The touch, the feel, the fabric of our lives" Do you remember that jingle for cotton?

 Her finish with binding on. 

 And a couple of pictures showing the quilting design. 

 I love the swirls!

She is all ready to be shelved away for Abby. It had to be hers. The pattern name is Abby's Wish and you can find the pattern in BH&G Sampler Quilts, 2002.

Another finish in 2015. I can check off number 2 on my Finish A-long list. 


 

Another Finish!

Gideon's Quilt began as a Jelly Roll Race quilt except I used my own cut strips from juvenile prints in my stash. 








I was unhappy with the final result so I cut it into crosswise strips. See previous post for a further explanation.  

















It is now quilted, the binding is on, and the label sewn on the back. Count this another finish for 2015 and check off number 1 on my Finish Along list! 











It finishes at 71" x 90" with a perimeter of 322 inches. I even pieced the backing with some yardage I had, so I busted my stash from 10.75 yards of fabrics.

I hope our happy warrior has many adventurous dreams under his new quilt!





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