Floating Squares

It's been a long time since I updated the blog as I find Instagram more immediate and less time-consuming (if you are there, I'm @lena.pugachova, please have a look, say hi and follow to see what's going on). However, sometimes I feel the pics are not enough and I want to tell at least something of the story.

I rarely make large bed quilts and I always find the process daunting, especially quilting them on my little Janome. In this case I had the additional complication of very limited time. I had planned it for long time and chosen the fabric long time ago - it's Summer Flowers batiks layer cake by Robert Kaufman Fabrics and I added it to my wishlist at www.fatquartershop.com as soon as I saw it, because I know my sister-in-law loves sunflowers and I thought she would love the colours, too. The quilt was meant for her birthday.

I bought the fabric in Black Friday sales, but I only started making the quilt in February, what with moving house and setting up a new sewing spot, which is now in the bedroom, in a sunny recess under a big south-facing window (the master bedroom, btw, is in the converted attic, don't ask me why, that's what "house type E" is laid out like). I have here a large IKEA table with plenty of drawers for all the bits and pieces.

So, because I had limited time and also because I didn't want to cut the fabric too much as it has some lovely large-scale patterns, I chose a simple pattern, one of those Gaye Grant demonstrated at the IPS Eastern Branch some time ago. Making the blocks was a breeze and even putting them together with the sashing wasn't too bad, it's the quilting that I was dreading as I had the whole thing laid out on the living room floor (with very little space left to walk around :))

Top tip: two layer cakes plus two yards of sashing fabric make a quilt big enough for a double bed; here it is on my bed for scale:

I decided to quilt it with the walking foot in flowy curvy lines to balance out the straight lines and squares. It was still hard and it isn't perfect, but I like the effect.

Another shortcut I took was machine-stitching the back of the binding. Usually, I hand-stitch it, but given the "mileage" here, I decided to go with the machine.

All in all, I managed to finish it in time, and even had a day to take some photos and wash it. After washing, the quilting texture became more pronounced and the whole thing looks scrunchy-er and fluffier.

Some more photos if you haven't had enough (I couldn't get a full straight-on photo as I couldn't possibly hang it straight anywhere):

Linking up to Off the Wall Friday at Creations by Nina-Marie
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict