Sunday 21 February 2016

Strip Tease - DONE!

My husband's grandmother was 90 recently and I decided to make her a quilt to mark the occasion.  I wanted to make something simple in colours which reflected her bright and fun personality.  

I opted for the Missouri Star Quilt Company Stacks quilt, the tutorial for which you can find here.  The tutorial is great and shows you how to put the quilt together very quickly.

I made a small change in that I switched the sizes for the patterned and background fabrics, meaning my coloured strips were 10 inches and my grey strips were 8 inches.  I did this to make the most of the fat quarters and mini jelly roll I had.



The jelly roll I used was the Simply Colorful II Junior Jelly Roll V and Co in Purple.  I also added various Kona solids, including Hibiscus, and other scraps I had (such as purple pearl bracelets left over from Sister's Choice).  The background grey is Kona Coal, which I bought for another exciting upcoming project but had just enough for both.  I think it is my new go-to background colour, I just love it.

I chain pieced the units together and I very quickly had a sew of 42 rows.


I then had a top ready for basting...


I pin baste on the floor, using masking tape to anchor the three layers.  I do like the convenience of 505 spray, but found it left a mark on a recent project.  Perhaps I was holding it too close?


I read some advice on pin basting which said you should not be able to lay your hand flat on any area of the quilt without feeling a pin.  If you can, add more pins!


I quilted it on my domestic machine using a new pattern I've never tried before.  Inspired by a class at the Stitch Gathering on FMQ patterns with Trudi Wood, I went for a flowering pattern (more on that to follow).






I bound it with some purple fabric I had in my stash using a two inch strip.  I went for this because it maximised the fabric I had, but also meant the stitching on the back was pretty much in the ditch (where I managed to keep it straight enough).



Finally, I gifted it to a very special lady!




Linking up with:

Quilt Story

Fresh Poppy Design

Sew Fresh Quilts

Sew Fresh Quilts

My Quilt Infatuation

Needle and Thread Thursday



Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday



15 comments:

  1. This is absolutely gorgeous! The quilting pattern is adorable and I love all of the different fabrics you used. :)

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  2. I love this pattern and your fabric selection made me smile. I'm sure she loved getting this. Thanks for your very detailed photos of your progress. I've been sewing for a long time but I am still interested in how others make their quilts. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. What a lovely quilt! I can only imagine the bright beautiful gal this was made for! Pink and purple are my favorite colors-the grey just makes them sing along with your flower FMQ design!! I know it will warm her in so many ways ! wonderfully done!

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  4. Kona Coal is one of my favorites too. This is so pretty- well done!

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  5. Beautiful and fun! I'm sure this will be one loved quilt!!!

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  6. What a beautiful quilt. The colors are gorgeous together!

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  7. Wow! What a gorgeous quilt! Purple is one of my favorite colors, and the grey makes it pop so well. Congrats on your finish, I sure hope she loves the quilt.

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  8. A very nice finish. I really like the quilting design you chose and the colors.

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  9. I'm not typically one for pink, but the grey tones it down and makes the colour palette work (for me at least!) Love the irregular, almost improv piecing and your quilting is wonderful. I'm sure it will be much loved!

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  10. Lovely quilt and so super fast. I'm looking forward to hear more about the new quilting pattern you tried. It looks wonderful!

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  11. it is beautiful! wonderful gift!

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  12. What a great finish, love the colors and MSQ videos are super!

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  13. Lovely quilt! Kona Coal looks quite nice win your pinks and purples.

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  14. Ah, the gray and purple combo. Very rich and vibrant. Love the scrappy look, and the solid gray (is it coal?) that gives it some sort of order. Beautiful.

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  15. Wow, that looks amazing :)

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