Sidewalk Chalk on Asphalt

When I flipped the calendar to 2018, I had no idea I'd be working on a bed quilt by the end of the month, and actually be sleeping under it by the start of spring. glory be! Yes, a new quilt for our bed had been on the list for at least a couple of years, but it took Rachel/Stitched in Color hosting The Big Bed Quilt-Along to actually get me going on it.



I'd been collecting low-volume fabrics for months on end, having no idea what I'd actually do with them. I had in mind maybe an improv pineapple quilt, but when I saw Meghan/Then Came June's Sidewalk Chalk pattern start popping up in Instagram, I changed my mind. It was a pattern, yes, but with an improvisational feel, and it seemed oh so doable - you know, like it might actually get done in a reasonable amount of time. And truth was, I loved loved! every version I saw. So that was settled, and I started in.

Rachel had been posting a variety of helpful posts along the way, and near the end of sewing my rows together, her Planning Quilt Size post turned on a light bulb. so I got my measuring tape out pronto and realized I would need to add an extra row and column both to make my own quilt sized appropriately for my bed. It's a good reminder to take a look at those dimensions listed on any pattern you use - they're all relative. Luckily, with Sidewalk Chalk, it was really easy, and after a good review of the pattern, even keeping that improv feel was a cinch and adding on didn't hold me up too much.

By mid-February, I had a finished quilt top! Measuring 96" x 112", it was BIG! Ie. too big for me to want to quilt myself. My decision was quick, easy, and logical (to me) - purchase a few yards of the crisscross in black wideback by Carolyn Friedlander, which was one of the low-volume fabrics in my original pull, pack it all up, and send straightaway to Rachel/Stitched in Color herself for long-arm quilting. We conferred briefly about thread color (off-white) and quilting design and density, and before long, my quilt was on the frame.

I wanted to comment since I mentioned it in a previous post - Stitched in Color uses Quilter's Dream Select batting, which I was unfamiliar with. I've always been a Warm & Natural/White gal myself, so I didn't know what to expect. But I'm more than happy with the feel and drape of the finished quilt and honestly can't really tell a difference. (yay!) 

So for binding, all 416" of it, I used more of the Backgrounds Crossstitch in Gray by Lori Holt. And with that, I have a brand new bed quilt and am ecstatic to cross that one off my list.

#BigBedQAL
Linking up with Finish It Up Friday!