A Friday Finish

It's been a while since my last quilt but am glad to have finished one more. The process of making this quilt started a while back when I made some improv  blocks with my quilt guild. The blocks had very humble beginnings. You blindly picked from scraps thrown together in a brown bag and used whatever you pulled out. In due course some of the blocks were given away, others exchanged and the rest evolved into this.

I was left with one big block which I cut up into four pieces in a slightly off centered fashion. Then added a few colored strips here and there to balance out the quilt top. For the backing I used more leftover scraps from other projects. I also added a very skinny strip to the top left for some visual interest.

I was wondering how I should quilt it when I saw this post on Jacquie Gering's blog. I knew instantly that the wavy quilting would be perfect for this quilt. I used stitch #4 on my Bernina and the walking foot to produce this effect. The wavy lines are quilted 1 inch apart. I absolutely love the texture it gives the quilt. You will see a lot more quilts quilted this way in the future. 

Labeling a quilt is a concept I have long struggled with. I wanted something that would enable me to sign the quilt but not interfere with the design of the quilt. I considered a lot of options. Scoured the internet for the perfect label, tried to print and embroider my own labels but in the end a dear member of my quilt guild Robin Buscemi provided me the perfect solution. Use the alphabet on my Bernina to stitch a message on the binding. It's perfect. Subtle, non intrusive and yet enough room to say whatever your heart desires. It adds a nice artistic touch. So here is my very first signed quilt.

While making this quilt I realized I do not like to work under any imposed timelines. I produce my best work when I work without any duress when I truly feel like working on the quilt. However I realize one can only have this luxury when quilting is pursued as a hobby. When it's ones livelihood...matters are a bit different.

Linking up to: Finish it up Friday & TGIFF

Wonky Cross Quilt for Madrona Road Challenge

This space has been quiet for a bit now, sewing time has been at a premium lately. Nevertheless I managed to squeeze in a finish on my Madrona Road Challenge quilt. The design is inspired by this pin on my Pinterest board. I decided to make the crosses a bit wonky instead.

Wonky Cross Quilt - Front

Wonky Cross Quilt - Back

My original improv quilt is still a WIP so decided to give this quilt an improv look. I had not done spiral quilting before so gave that a try too. It was a shaky start but once the circle got bigger than 6" it was fairly simple. The walking foot and guide were very handy. I also off-centered the spiral for a more dramatic effect. It's more visible from the back.

I used a text print for binding as I wanted it to be noticeable but not over-power the quilt. I do like all the negative space in the quilt. Had to really restrain myself from filling it up. I also tried machine binding for the first time. It wasn't picture perfect but not bad either. The binding was done in a jiffy compared to doing it by hand, the convenience is a big plus.

Linking up to: Finished Friday