This has been a busy couple of months while I have been focused on a specific quilt. I usually have a couple of projects in the works at the same time and get a break from them, but I had a very specific deadline for this quilt. I started cutting the pieces in November and started the quilting in January. I really enjoyed each stage of this project but I have the say the time quilting was still my favorite.
This is the biggest project that I have designed on my own. The idea was a drawing I did about a year ago. Thanks to Mark and his technical genius, I got an enlarged pattern which was wonderful to work from. He even let me pin it to the living room wall for 3 months while I was constructing it. The family all thinks the wall looks bare now that it is down. I really liked that I was not exactly sure what the quilt would look like when it was done. I had planned out the color scheme and had a color drawing to work from but in each shape there are multiple smaller shapes which were drawn in as I came to each unit. I only had to tear out one piece and replace it! The quilting really changed the look of the quilt for me. I used one color for each major section – which seamed to pull all of the pieces back into one unit. I used about 10 different colors of threads for the quilting. The backing is a dark black/blue hand-dyed fabric. I matched the top and the bobbin thread, so there is “back art”. I like this technique because it helps prevent tension issues and it looks cool.
I tried a new technique for squaring up the quilt top. (after quilting and before putting on the binding) I laid the quilt on the tile floor in the dining room and taped the straight top edge along the straight line of the tiles. Mark helped me set up the T-square and the laser level. I cut along the edge – the red light of the laser guiding my scissors. After the binding was on, I put a large sheet on the carpet and sprayed the quilt top with a squirt bottle. I pinned the corners after measuring across the diagonal of the quilt to make sure it is square. This should help the quilt hang square and flat.
I am having the appraisal this week and then I hope to be able to submit it to the AQS Knoxville quilt show. I so hope it gets accepted.