Saturday, September 06, 2008

I'm done!

Yes, I did it! Finished the quilt last night, that is. So here it is in all it's rippled glory. I really need to device some kind of method for hanging my quilts up for photographing them, so I can show them off to their best advantage - it isn't actually as rippled as it looks, although the dense quilting on the green strips and the looser curlicues on the floral strips won't let it lie completely flat. Never mind, it is to be a lap quilt to snuggle under on the sofa during the winter to serve as a reminder that there is such a thing as summer.
Here it is draped across the sofa for a closer look.
Remember I was inspired by the scroll pattern used as part of the Olympic design themes, but for continuous line machine quilting that pattern wouldn't have worked, and it would have become too dense, so the quilt would have lost its softness and drape, so I went with a much looser spirally pattern instead. I quilted alternate floral strips in red and blue thread, and did the green stripes in green thread, to provide some interest on the back as well.
This is the way I'll see it most, I suppose - as a rolling landscape of hills covered in flowers and grassy paths in between. I think I'll enjoy the view :-)

I have used a pre-washed Hobbs Heirloom Premium batting (80 per cent cotton/20 per cent polyester) which is a delight to work with and makes the finished quilt nice and soft. I know some people shy away from washing batting before it is actually in a quilt, but I have had no problems with it. I just put it in the machine, wash on a gentle cycle, pump the water out, run it through the spin cycle and let it dry draped over my drying rack, making it nice and fluffy.

2 comments :

Tine said...

Wow wow wow wow!!! Your quilt is fantastic! Those big floral prints are so wonderful in this quilt! And the quilting you did is amazing. What a quilt!!!

...you can tell I like this a lot, right?

Joyce said...

It's beautiful. I love those floral fabrics. Nice to have one finished. It means you can start two or three more!