... and the Bayou quilt is finished. The quilting was indeed a marathon effort and thankfully it was all smooth sailing. Six hours of frenetic stitching (and also a little mind numbing) and just over two large bobbins of thread were used to get through all that stitching.
But I think it was well worth the effort. The quilting has added a whole lot of character to this quilt not to mention a beautiful texture ~ I can't stop myself from touching the rippled and squishy quilt. To keep the lines running fairly straight I have had to mark every second line, lining up my ruler with preceding stitch lines at the same time ensuring that the line is marked at a 90 degree angle with seam lines.
The back of the quilt features minimal piecing using some of the left over fabric strips as well as a few extras that were used when auditioning different colors.
Sewing long strips of fabric together is not always an easy task and I do have a few simple tips:
- when cutting strips of fabric from edge to edge, fold fabric along the length, selvages together (although the selvages may not be perfectly aligned)
- line up the bottom edge of your ruler along the fold of the fabric ensuring it is straight and square up the edges of the fabric.
- be sure to take your time to rotary cut accurate strips
- reduce stitch length
- allow your sewing machine to feed the fabric through, don't pull or tug at the fabric. Use dual feed on your sewing machine if available.
- Sew strips into pairs first, then sew together pairs, and then sew together pairs of four strips etc.
- Alternate sewing the strips from top to bottom and vice versa.
- If the fabric you are cutting has a really loose weave use a little spray starch (available from most grocery stores) to stabilize the fabric (it wasn't required for the fabrics used for this quilt).
- Press seams by allowing the weight and heat of the iron to do the work while you lower and raise the iron. I do use steam when pressing.
For binding fabric I've used Amy Butler Full Moon Polka Dot - a much loved fabric - which frames this quilt with a zing.
As usual I have updated my Etsy Store and listed this quilt for sale ~ you will find the listing here. SOLD
Thank you for stopping by and happy stitching!
Rita
Rita
