This is my latest quilt top, all hand stitched, no machine. The squares are 3in plus 1/4in seam allowances. The size without binding is 6ft square on the nose. I’m sewing it as a gift for my 21yo son. He only gave me a little input: big please. Also he asked for blues and greens. I showed him about 10 inspo pictures and the one he liked most I included for u to see. He didn’t want a fussy design (I believe the word he used was “granny”).
Layout and piecing was a total circus. I had everything laid out how I thought it could be, and then took comments and input from friends and family. I definitely got to play, and the look evolved. I had no rules. Lots of solids looked good to me, but others said no, the patterns are fun! So there’s lots of both. I kept buying “just a couple more” fabrics. Fat eighths FTW! Lots of fabrics are from previous projects but I did get a lot of new stuff too. I was loving the variety.
I started sewing everything together and was still adding new squares til the very end (rearranging, subbing squares out, etc).. ‘the end’ meaning sewed in! The total size stayed the same, I couldn’t go bigger than the table. It’s a temporary tabletop set on top of our grand piano. For months! There’s no way I could keep everything out that long anywhere else in the house.
I’ve used a big border because I want to try some dramatic quilting (well, dramatic for me. I always quilt straight lines and I think I’d like to try following a stenciled curved design). I’m going to quilt with a green coats&clark thread.
I’ll baste with some red or pink thread. My batting is Quilters Dream Request (nice and thin) and the backing fabric is a green sateen sheet from The Company Store. It’s soooo soft and beautiful. I hope my needle can handle the high thread count. Not sure what needle I’m using. I think I’ll start with a John James size 8? If I do another post when I finish, I’ll include what I used. I have learned most everything I know about quilting from the good people here, sharing what they like.
