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
Sew Fresh Quilts
My Quilt Infatuation
Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday
