Oh it feels great to have another quilt finish. Especially since it's the Seattle MQG block-of-the-month that was begun last year. I worked on it in fits and starts, but when I finally decided it was time to finish it up, progress went really well.
If you remember, I filled in between the year's modern traditional blocks with Kona Pond, Jade Green, and Emerald. I had a small amount of a berry solid that was used too, and I think it really added a lot. Anyway, once the puzzling was done, I had fun making a pieced backing from some of the scraps and backgrounds I'd been using, along with a couple of coordinating stash finds.
For quilting, I finally settled on Aurifil 50wt 5006 [Light Turquoise], which may seen an odd choice, but a neutral didn't seem quite right.
It took several hours - between 8 and 10 - to do organic straight-line over the whole thing, and I was surprised how much thread I used! For comparison, the spool I used (which was new when I began) is on the left in the photo below; a new spool on the right. And the finished quilt is just 53" x 56".
There's one little tip I thought I'd share, in case you want to try organic straight-line quilting. Once you are done covering the entire quilt with stitching, go back with a ruler and see how many lines of stitching are in, say a 3" section. In my case, in the segment shown, there were 12. Then I move my ruler across the quilt and see if there are sections that could use another line of stitching. If there are either too few lines or too large a gap between lines, I place a pin to mark where I want to go back and add more stitching. It's definitely not a science, rather all personal choice, but something to consider if you like.
For binding, I just had to go with matched binding.
It took me a few minutes to decide what to use where, since obviously I didn't match in absolutely every section, but I am SO pleased with how it turned out! I think the placement of the binding adds a lot to the overall placement of the background fabrics, which pleased me to no end.
#SeattleMQGBOM2022
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#YearOfDoublesBOM
Linking up with Meadow Mist Designs' Favorite Finish Monthly Linkup.
Super Modern Traditional Improv Sampler quilt finish!
ReplyDeleteAnd really great quilting too! Much applause!
Really fantastic tip about counting the number of quilting lines in a given area and using pins to mark where to go back and add more. There is so much to like about the finish and the pieced binding was worth the time you took to plan out. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great tip about the lines in a measured area. I usually quilt my first lines 2-3" apart, then quilt between those lines and keep filling in until it feels right (hope that makes sense). When you begin your quilting, do you start at the center and work your way out?
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun quilt! And the turquoise was a great choice for the thread color. And the binding is so fun... Love how you fit it to the seconds. Big congrats on your finish! xo
ReplyDeleteThis turned out so good, Debbie! Your colors are great. I especially like that zig-zag stripe in the upper left... it grabs my eyes as I move across the quilt. Your organic straight line quilting is good too! I've never done that, mostly because I'm always concerned that so much thread adds to the weight of a quilt. That's okay if it's a wall hanging - as yours will be? - but if the quilt is to be used, isn't it a lot heavier? It's really interesting to see how much thread you used! Surprising. I appreciate your tip about how to check for a balance of quilting, and will keep that in mind if I every try such quilting. I'm happy for you to have a wonderful finish. No doubt your MQG mates like the finished quilt too.
ReplyDeleteThat looks great! And a lot of fun. Great color choices.
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