Sunday, September 18, 2011

[gray geese] over the rainbow

Yay!  The baby quilt is done!

It's a big one, about 41" x 63" -- bigger than I planned, because I added the white sashing to my original design plan.  But I hope it proves to be useful, whether as a playmat or an eventual toddler bed quilt.


Details that may be of interest to someone, somewhere:

-all the fabrics are from my stash



-the gray is a solid from Connecting Threads; the white sashing is (I believe) a Bella solid

-the binding is the gray version of Alexander Henry "Heath"

-the backing fabric (light blue with little fall leaves) is a Connecting Threads print that was on clearance a little while back.  It washed up very soft.




I used several of my new Aurifil variegated 50 wt threads to FMQ some loose spirals on the rows of geese (plus one of my standby cotton threads from Connecting Threads: the violet used on the final row of geese, pictured above).  It was fun to sample these threads -- they are absolutely lovely to work with, no breakage, and the stitching pretty subtle.





Is there a step in the process that you hurry through?

Lately I have been finding myself rushing to the finish line, and not taking quite as much care with my quilting as I could.  So I am making a little pact with myself: in my next few projects I want to break out of my quilting comfort zone a bit, moving beyond stippling, spirals, and straight line quilting.  I think I have enough control over my FMQ to do more than this.  I just need to take some time with the quilting itself.

Anyway, given that this baby is due ANY SECOND NOW I am glad to have this present done and ready to go.  Thanks again to my online friends who were so encouraging when I was fretting over this project!  It makes such a difference to hear feedback and advice from such a friendly and talented lot.

7 comments:

LizA. said...

What a great save for this project. The white sashing really lightened it up. I think it made the rainbow colors of the geese "pop". I love Aurifil for piecing--I just might have to try those rainbow colors in my HQ16. I wouldn't worry about the quilt being too big--I always make baby quilts big enough for the baby to use as he/she grows. My cousins 2 boys, 8 & 5 won't travel without their quilts.....

Linda V said...

I am so glad you decided to add the white. It makes all the difference. It is just perfect, now!!
Linda
http://homesweetquiltinghome.blogspot.com

Cille said...

Love how it turned out despite the struggles underway :)

Isisjem said...

This looks fab! Totally worth the effort - the geese going alternate directions is just a great touch!

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

This looks wonderful - I love the quilting you did and the white sashing is a fabulous touch! Lucky baby!

quirky granola girl said...

beautiful quilt!! i love the rainbow geese and the gray is gorgeous. great job!

Michelle @ the quilted tortoise said...

This is simply gorgeous, i LOVE it!! I think the white sashing looks great.