It all begann in June last year:
Above you can see Lynne’s Paper Piecing Class at Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat in London. I was terrified as I had never tried Paper Piecing before. But Lynne explained everything so thoroughly and perfectly that I left the class with 3 finished blocks.
They were meant to be made into a cussion but somehow that never appealed to me. So they sat in my U.F.O. pile for 9 months. One day I saw this quilt on pinterest and I knew what I wanted to make. A baby quilt.
And I wanted to try some new Free Motion Quilting. I had seen this tutorial and wanted to give it a try ever since. The design is called Dogwood. After basting the quilt sandwich I drew a grid on the quilt top and without any practise I started to quilt.
I will not conceal that there are some petals that are less than imperfect but (to my own surprise) I don’t care a bit.
In the photo above you can see the grid and how I quilted one flower per square. Around the paper pieced blocks I have sewn some free motion straight lines because the grid didn’t fit around the blocks.
And here’s a shot of the finished quilt after washing:
I had some Remix stripes in my stash that match the colours of the blocks very well and I even had a matchy-matchy-dotty-flannel for the backing:
I attached the binding with my sewing machine – this time using a simple straight stitch.
Now let’s face the two things that really annoy me.
First. Bleeding. There’s one green fabric that bleeded into the white fabric.
See below in the block at the right. Any suggestions how to fix that are welcome. That never happened before )o:
Second. Bearding. There are many many fibres that escaped through the top fabrics AND the backing. That never happened either.
What frustrates me most about this circumstance is that the piece of batting I used for this quilt was a leftover. And I’m not sure were it came from, what brand it is nor how I used the main piece of that batting. There’s another quilt top rolled in a piece of batting waiting to be finished – and I fear it might be the same sort of batting. Grrr.
All that being said, I still love that little quilt.
It was intended to be a gift for our friends who are expecting a second baby girl soon – do you think I can still give it away with this heavy bearding? I fear that the baby will constantly be eating cotton fibres. What do you think?!
Happy quilting!
Christine
Well how adorable is that!?
ReplyDeleteGreat quilt, Christine! About your two problems - try washing it again, with oxyclean and cold water, to remove the green bleeding. (If washing it doesn't help, try soaking it in oxyclean.) Another wash might help with the bearding, too, and if it does, a couple more runs in the wash might eliminate it completely. That's all I've got! And you might try showing it to a non-quilting friend to see if they notice the bearding - if they don't, then I think it's ok to give to your friend's baby. We tend to magnify our work's shortcomings in our own minds - witness my blog header! No one else even notice the phone pole!
ReplyDeleteWhoop Whoop!!
Gorgeous quilt! Such a shame about the bleeding and bearding. I loved your blocks when I saw them in Lynne's class and they look fabulous as a quilt. I especially love the frog!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is the cutest little quilt! I love the simplicity of it, yet the FMQ you did really "makes" the quilt. I am new to FMQ but I love that method you used.... makes me think I might be able to do that. Thanks for sharing, I'll definitely try it! As for the "issues" --- I second what Sarah said :-).
ReplyDeleteWow, the retreat looks AMAZING. I love the quilt on your header and it's one of my bee blocks this month so was fun to see.
ReplyDeleteSehr schoener Quilt! Ich muss gestehen, dass ich diese Probleme noch nie hatte. Ich hoffe, die Tipps von Sarah helfen und Du kannst ihn verschenken.
ReplyDeleteThey have made a really adorable baby quilt.
ReplyDeleteDo you have colour catchers over there? I always stick one in when I do the first wash and they seem to help ensure no colour bleeding.
Visiting from crazy mum quilts. I love this. The blocks are amazing and your quilting is great
ReplyDeleteThose blocks made a wonderful quilt. And the whole Modern Quilt movement is about negative space, which you used very well. I don't know what to do about the bearding.
ReplyDeleteLove your quilting on this.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had some great solution to either issue, but I have no idea. Washing again with OxyClean might work, or washing it again with a color catcher in there. My only other suggestion is a bleach pen since it bled onto the white white fabric. I would apply it carefully and wash immediately.
Are you sure the bearding is from the batting and not the back? I have had a terrible time with certain flannels bearding, especially if they are not quilt shop quality fabrics.
I still think you can give it to them, regardless of the small issues. It is really cute!
Came across your blog link-up on crazy mom quilts blog - Finish it Friday - love the quilt and think it is such a cool aesthetic for a baby. I have been eyeing the dogwood pattern by Elizabeth Hartmann for a while as well, but haven't had the right project for it yet. The Dogwood pattern does look great on open space like in your quilt. Inspiring!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great quilt! I definitely think you should give it to the baby as you intended.
ReplyDeleteI have had great luck using Spray 'N Wash's Stain Stick to get everything from bleeding fabric dyes to blue ink marks off of white fabric. Once you give it another wash, you'll have a better idea of whether the bearding is going to be a life long issue for the quilt.
I love your quilt. The blocks are adorable.
ReplyDeleteHow cute! You did a great job! :0)
ReplyDeleteHi, i came over from Whoop Whoop, your blocks are great, so bright and colourful and great job on the FMQ - it's amazing, i can't believe it's your first try! :o)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely quilt! I've just voted for it over at the Quilting Gallery and am now a new follower! I'll be going to FQR this summer so if you're going as well, perhaps we'll have a chance to meet. :-) Happy quilting!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous. Lynne is going to be so proud of you!
ReplyDelete