Wednesday, 12 September 2012

Ta Da!

I know that brown is not everyone's cup of tea, and that there is nothing in the slightest bit cutting edge about this quilt, but it is finished and it is the first quilt I have made for me, and I really like it.  It will fullfil its destiny keeping toast crumbs off the sofa until I make a better one!





After asking advice about whether to add more quilting to the centre section I eventually took it as a sign to stop when I ran out of thread!  The borders are in linen from my local fabric shop and the side ones are quilted in bog standard tan cotton thread.  It was going to be backed with linen but I ran out  (a theme seems to be developing here....) and used cheapo extra-wide sheeting.



Having quilted this and this without it, I am totally smitten with my new walking foot.



There is no binding - I wanted a "quiet" unfussy quilt - then last night I saw this post so I just ripped 2 inch strips from the left-over sheeting, folded them as for usual binding, stitched them to the front using a quarter-inch seam and pulled them all the way to the back.  It was the easiest thing to do except that I made a mess of the miters (can't get a good picture of that;-)




Stats:
  • Coloured section: Amy Butler, with some Kate Spain and Joel Dewberry thrown in along with a couple of odds and sods
  • Thread: 30 weight variegated Sulky in blue/greens on top and on bobbin
  • Borders: sand linen
  • Thread: 100% cotton in brown
  • Backing: extra wide cotton sheeting
  • Binding: none

Things I learned:

  • Spray basting is just the best!
  • To test-drive a walking foot on scraps of batting in order to get the tension right
  • To use different weight threads for effect 
  • That you don't have to bind a quilt 
  • That I love linen
  • That coffee and quilting is Not a Good Combination
The mark of shame

Linking to Fabric Tuesday
Fresh Poppy Design

14 comments:

  1. Now come on Catherine, there is brown and then there is a lovely soft mushroomy taupe colour and I think I now which one this is, combined with those soft blues and zesty yellows making one hell of a gorgeous quilt! It's beautiful and looks a great size too for snuggling under (not keeping crumbs off). I love your quilting and the binding is a great idea. It's a beauty!

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  2. I think the colors are beautiful! Congrats on finishing!

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  3. it's lovely! The blue quilting lines are fab!

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  4. I love it! You used my favorite combination of fabrics linen and cotton. Congratulations is beautiful!

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  5. I think it's just lovely. Great colour combo...it reminds me of a cup of hot chocolate wth marshmallows (although that could be cos I'm starving!)

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  6. It is so so pretty! I too love the colour combination and the quilting is fabulous. I have never used a walking foot, maybe I need to invest in one.

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  7. I love it! I love the quilting, colors, and binding!

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  8. Hi!!! I love it all too!!! I really think the colors work good!!!

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  9. Okay... so that coffee stain will come out with a stain remover applied before washing, I wouldn't worry there. Your quilt looks awesome I love the linen borders!

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  10. It looks great! Sometimes I pull the backing fabric to the front to finish a quilt, it is easy and quick but can make the corners tricky!

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  11. I was so intrigued by your quilt photo in your random post, I backtracked to this one. I really love this quilt! Oh, my gosh. Brown isn't a huge favorite of mine, but I don't dislike it. And I would not categorize this linen as brown. I love linen! You did an amazing job with this. You should be so happy!

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  12. It has turned out really well, so give yourself a big pat on the back for a job well done!

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  13. This is lovely! I really like the no-binding binding.

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