I must say that I am so happy with the result, and it was a DREAM to quilt. I will defend hand basting from now on. No pins to stick me and no big holes to repair from safety pins either. It was so easy to quilt in the ditch in all directions and if and when I felt a bubble, I did unsew and fix it right at that moment so I have no lingering repairs. Sigh. I used my regular open-toe foot, not the walking foot, and did no free motion at all. To accomplish this I lower the pressure on the presser foot to zero. It just slides right along on the feed dogs, keeping the stitch length even. Also I use a 3.0 stitch length which makes fixing boo-boos much easier. #30 weight cotton thread in the needle and #50 weight in the bobbin.
I found the one block where it looks like all the points worked just for this picture. Ha!
Several commentors were anticipating how I would quilt this, and to me it would always be stitch in the ditch first and then decide if it needed any more. After having just quilted the sections, and not every single strip (ugh) and then slept under it, I am satisfied that it doesn't require any fancy pattern stitching.
I don't like allover-ignoring-the piecing-pattern quilting, certainly don't like stipple quilting, and think too many quilts are quilted to death. And I have victimized far too many myself. I have a zillion examples in my closet. But now I am allowing open spaces and having the less is more point of view. I'll save the fancy quilting for less utilitarian quilts.
And I am from the machine sewn binding school too. Neat and secure. Here's my binding tutorial from last year.
I did serge the edges before I applied the binding, so all the layers were neatly in place with no pleating. I think the word NEAT got a real workout as I made this quilt. I am returning NEAT to the bottom drawer again soon.
The headboard and curtain fabric arrived and the pink coordinates with the quilt so well. I'll be getting to these projects this weekend.In the meantime, our weather has been in the high 60's and Dave and Chum have been working in the yard all day. It makes a puppy happy to come in for lunch and an afternoon nap.
Gorgeous! Such a happy quilt. I could looks at the pretty prints all day long.
ReplyDeleteI love the quilt. It's dreamy. The binding looks perfect. I have such trouble to do a good binding and I do prefer to sew my sown by hand. I just can't do it perfect enough on the machine. There is always a small line of stitching that crosses over somewhere it shouldn't be.
ReplyDeleteChumley looks content and even color co-ordinated on the sofa.
Thank you for "not" overquilting your beautiful quilt.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the middle of doing 11 purple lap quilts and you have inspired me to make mine the spider web. It looks fantastic. And I'm big on not over quilting my fabrics also. Thanks for sharing this - its totally fantastic.
ReplyDeleteIt's gorgeous! I love it.
ReplyDelete~RBC
This is a terrific achievement, Melody, pieced, sewn, quilted and bound and on the bed in such a short time. Just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a happy quilt and I love the colors.
ReplyDeleteOnce again I find myself exhausted just thinking about the speed you accomplish such big things.
So enjoyed the picture of the pond and fish on Wednesday. Certainly did not think there would be a finished quilt on Friday morning.
Must ask the type of needle you used with the number 30 wt thread. I love the heavier threads and they make such a statement.
It's beautiful! And you finished it so fast! Love all the pinks!
ReplyDeleteI just love your bright colors! Pink and green are one of my favorite combinations lately.
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful!! your sewing and quilting skills are incredible. That darn pup of yours is precious too :o)
ReplyDeleteOh what a wonderful Quilt in such happy colors, It`s olso a very sweet little dog you have.
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ReplyDeleteYippee! Great job. Hope to see it up close and personal one of these days. And as usual, great tips and teaching techniques
ReplyDeleteLoved the flimsy but the finished is even better! Love the mix of colors and especially the pink.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the quick and well-done finish. It looks extra nice with the pillows, too. The colors are so Happy! Thanks for the tips on no tension and no bubbles. I'll be trying those things on my next project.
ReplyDeleteIt looks super in its chosen spot. Really, thinking about it beforehand was the hardest part, wasn't it??!! So many projects look intimidating, but when we just take one step at a time, and stop trying to talk ourselves out of doing them, they are not hard at all.
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is lovely...they fall so much more softly round you when they're not overquilted, don't they?
ReplyDeleteLove Pink Spidey! Once again you have amazed me with how quickly you've finished a project. I can't tell you how much I enjoy seeing the daily pictures of Chumley. I'm a pug owner too - can't get enough of these squishy face little guys!
ReplyDeleteJust gorgeous! I love this quilt.....it makes you happy just looking at it....all the lovely color that pops out at you.....
ReplyDeleteLooks lovely! Love the backingfabric.
ReplyDeleteNever thought to serge the ends before binding! Great idea. Love the quilt, too.
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