Open Jar SPRING | Springtide

Tasked with making a very long table runner - something I'll share more about later - I ended up having a pile of scrappy cross-weaves on my cutting table, and in the moment, they looked very spring-y to me. So rather than put them away, I decided to create something in response to the Open Jar @open_____jar prompt for March, SPRING.

Inspired by Crossover by Ophelia Pang @opheliapangg, I improv-pieced the fun mix of colored cross-weaves together, ending up with a small quilt top about 21" x 24". Just for reference, the background fabric was left from the QuiltCon Windham Artisan Cotton 2024 Fabric Challenge - Artisan Solid in White-Aqua. I really liked how it was light-colored enough to let the brighter colors really shine, but wasn't quite white.

I used more scraps to make a pieced quilt back, and then set to grid-quilting with several Aurifil 28wt threads: 1231 [Spring Green], 2530 [Medium Orchid], 2420 [Light Blush], 2845 [Light Juniper]. Per Aurifil's suggestion, I used 50wt in the bobbin, basically using up several already-wound bobbins in similar colors.

At this point, I have a confession to make about the binding. I was kind of in a hurry to finish this small (18" x 22") quilt for IGQuiltFest2025Day14's prompt, "Recent Finish." So I did indeed prep a typical faced binding, but after sewing the strips onto the sides of the quilt, under-stitching, and pressing well, I clipped the edge to hold it, flipped the quilt to the front side, and added another vertical line of quilting, securing the facing while doing so. Then I repeated the procedure for the other side of the quilt. You can see where one side turned out almost perfectly, but the other not as much, but still not bad. (scroll up a couple of photos to see both sides at once) This was a shortcut I would not and could not have done on most quilts, but on this one, it worked, and helped get me to my goal of a quick finish.

I'm curious if you ever take shortcuts like I did on this little quilt. Honestly, it added to the fun of making an impromptu improv piece influenced by the spring-y colors hanging out on my cutting board. Projects like this one are just plain fun, and give me the motivation I need to keep working on the larger ones that take more time and focus.