Almost a year in the making, but what better time to finish my sampler quilt than the week of Amy's great Blogger Quilt Festival . This time it feels like I really have something to show off!
This quilt is also special because it is the first one I get to keep!
I designed it to go in my living/dining room to match all the yellow and grey in there. But to make it a little more interesting, I decided to go with a sampler design. I thought this would be a good way to expand my knowledge base of quilting in a shortish timeframe.
I tried to go with the widest variety of types of block. So there is some paper piecing, hand stitching, applique, improv and of course standard piecing. I was fortunate and grateful to all the kind bloggers out there who generously post ideas, pictures and all important tutorials that I was able to use to pull together such a stunning variety of blocks. There are some old school blocks in there two like this 9 patch tutorial but with the simple colour scheme I think the overall look is modern.
Although I really enjoyed making this quilt, the time involved was way more than I had anticipated. Not just in sourcing all the different blocks but then working on each for the first time. But the thing I think held me back the most was the quilting. How was I going to pull all these different designs off?
I decided I didn't just want an overall design, so again much research was called on and finally I got this baby quilted! Once I had started doing the different designs to emphasise each block, I became more confident in the look I wanted to achieve. I reckoned as long as this was a sampler quilt, then I should sample as much different types of quilting designs as I could manage.
There were some blocks where I was just totally winging it. Some I liked better than others. But overall I am proud that I gave each technique a go and I think I got the mix right between simple outline quilting and some heavier free motion quilting.
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My first ever feather attempt |
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Trying out all the different stitches on my machine |
Block size: Aimed for 12" (probably trimmed a bit smaller, all due to my error!)
Overall Size: 56" x 72" (or as I like to say big enough to snuggle under in front of TV - and maybe even room for two!
Filling: Bamboo wadding
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The back - almost as pretty as the front |
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Very Autumnal |
