beginning Blue
Know what I did in a royal "pregnancy brain" moment? I requested a backing for Twirly Top quilt from a sponsor, and while it was processing created a backing from my stash. By the time I got the shipping confirmation email for the backing, I had already finished quilting! It all happened within a few days. Yep, there are no excuses for that...
Sometimes sponsors gift me fabric I request for very specific projects. When they know I will be using the fabric promptly and linking to their website, it's a mutually beneficial trade.
Unless I don't use the fabric?
Yeah, that hasn't happened before. No matter. I can do better than apologize. I'll start a new quilt! And this time I'll use the backing Connecting Threads sent my way. Pinky promise.
My backing is "provincial blue" and could readily coordinate with lots of fabrics, but I've decided to work again with true blues: bold cobalt, stormy skies, baby blue and cornflower. I'm steering clear of aqua blues and fabrics with much in the way of other colors. I've pulled solids and all my squares and chunk scraps that suit.
Maybe because the palette is so classic, I landed on this traditional design. My big 13" solid squares are cut in various shades of solid blue. The checkerboard patchwork squares are cut 3". This quickly devovured all my true blue scraps and has started eating into my yardage... because I'm going big! The backing is 104" wide and there's plenty for a twin or full sized quilt. With the backing already ready, it just seems a bed quilt is in order.
Not too far along I found myself yawning. Traditional can be charming, but not terribly exciting. To spice things up I've decided to make this one quilt-as-you-go. I'm quilting the solid squares in different straight line textures, simple quilting through the block and one layer of batting (no backing yet). Working on these small little canvases makes quilting a breeze!
When I've finished piecing and quilting all the many, many blocks I need for this large quilt, I'll do a tutorial on how to finish a quilt-as-you-go number. I frequently receive questions about that, so this is a perfect opportunity to clear the air.
Alright, there's more blue awaiting me. Back soon!
Sometimes sponsors gift me fabric I request for very specific projects. When they know I will be using the fabric promptly and linking to their website, it's a mutually beneficial trade.
Unless I don't use the fabric?
Yeah, that hasn't happened before. No matter. I can do better than apologize. I'll start a new quilt! And this time I'll use the backing Connecting Threads sent my way. Pinky promise.
My backing is "provincial blue" and could readily coordinate with lots of fabrics, but I've decided to work again with true blues: bold cobalt, stormy skies, baby blue and cornflower. I'm steering clear of aqua blues and fabrics with much in the way of other colors. I've pulled solids and all my squares and chunk scraps that suit.
Maybe because the palette is so classic, I landed on this traditional design. My big 13" solid squares are cut in various shades of solid blue. The checkerboard patchwork squares are cut 3". This quickly devovured all my true blue scraps and has started eating into my yardage... because I'm going big! The backing is 104" wide and there's plenty for a twin or full sized quilt. With the backing already ready, it just seems a bed quilt is in order.
Not too far along I found myself yawning. Traditional can be charming, but not terribly exciting. To spice things up I've decided to make this one quilt-as-you-go. I'm quilting the solid squares in different straight line textures, simple quilting through the block and one layer of batting (no backing yet). Working on these small little canvases makes quilting a breeze!
When I've finished piecing and quilting all the many, many blocks I need for this large quilt, I'll do a tutorial on how to finish a quilt-as-you-go number. I frequently receive questions about that, so this is a perfect opportunity to clear the air.
Alright, there's more blue awaiting me. Back soon!