The BOM

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. 

So yay, my second quilt finish for 2023. I'm not 100% sure what's next, and that's a great place to be. Whatever, it feels good to be moving forward.

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#YearOfDoublesBOM 

Linking up with Meadow Mist Designs' Favorite Finish Monthly Linkup.

Seattle MQG BOM Final Blocks

Not quite sure what happened, but I meant to share these blocks with you weeks ago! Though I fully intended in keeping up with the Seattle MQG block-of-the-month each month, apparently doing the blocks in chunks seems to have worked best - first in the spring, more in the summer, and the final ones come winter.

September - Dresden Plate

October - Courthouse Steps

So finally, in early December, I had all my blocks completed. Just a reminder, I did take the BOM in my own direction. Named "The Year of Doubles," the official guild plan was to make a traditional and improvisational block each month, and eventually make a two-sided quilt. I obviously just made the improv blocks, just because that's what sounded fun to me. Made from scraps, I really grew to enjoy my unusual palette.

I got waylaid by my Scrappy Sparkle Punch quilt, but the BOM is top priority again, and I must say I've enjoyed puzzling the blocks into a quilt top.

54" x 57"-ish, the puzzling was actually a lot of fun. Primarily, I filled in with Kona Pond, Jade Green, and Emerald. So up next is a pieced back, and before long, quilting. I can't wait!

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#YearOfDoublesBOM 

Seattle MQG BOM Summer Blocks

Back in May, I finally got started - and caught up - on our guild's block-of-the-month, The Year of Doubles. For no good reason, I set it aside then, feeling pretty good about it all, then failed to touch it again until last weekend. We just had had our August guild  meeting, and so I was reminded, and we also received a new block assignment. Happily, now I can say I'm all caught up again!

June - Ohio Star

July - Arkansas Traveler

August - Dutchman's Puzzle

I'm making my own rules, so though the intent for the BOM was to make a two-sided quilt, one side with traditional blocks, the other with improv blocks, I'm only focusing on the improv. Even so, I kinda feel like these blocks are quasi-improv, as though they are all definitely improvisational, they are all still very recognizable. It's fun fabric-play just the same, and I'm using plenty of scraps, so it's all fine by me. The palette is so unique, but it continues to entice me.

#SeattleMQGBOM2022 
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#YearOfDoublesBOM