The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik, AccuQuilt, Hobbs, and Aurifil.
The April challenge was to use the AccuQuilt Ready. Set. GO! to create a 40" to 48" square baby quilt using AccuQuilt Dies. I asked people on Instagram to vote on my fabric selection for this project. I pulled a rainbow of scraps, but then I also liked the green/blue subset. The green/blue palette was the overwhelming winner.
The Ready. Set. GO! collection includes the GO! Qube 8" Mix & Match Block which is a set of 8 dies in a variety of geometric shapes for making 8" finished blocks. I used dies 1, 2, and 4 for cutting all my green and blue squares and triangles as well as my 4 1/2" background squares. I appreciated how fast and easy it was to cut out the pieces for my scrappy project. I look forward to teaching my kids how to use the AccuQuilt, because it's easy enough for them to use (and I currently do all the cutting for their quilts).
I'm drawn to quilts with expansive negative space, like my Island Batik quilt from last April. I used Rice (from the Island Batik Neutral Foundation Basics) for my background and used my favorite design tool for creating my quilt design: graph paper. The cutting was fast and easy. The piecing was fast and easy. I decided to have fun with free motion quilting this one, using a variety of motifs in the different sections of the quilt. I like to take a photo of the quilt top and markup the image with potential quilting motifs on my phone. Here's my initial sketch.
I didn't think too much about how hard the wishbone quilting in the center background sections would be. Given that the width of that section varies from about 6 to 11 inches wide, these are very long wishbones. It started out a little dicey, but overall I'm pleased with the look. In general, I like organic quilting and don't strive for perfection when quilting. Precision sometimes, but not perfection.
This was the first project I used my new free motion quilting foot on and it went very well. I am loving the visibility of the open toe, and the hopping foot went from distracting to "the new normal" pretty quickly. This is a serious step up from the darning foot I've been using to free motion quilt for 7 years! I used 50wt Aurifil Light Grey Turquoise (#2805) from the Pastel collection for my quilting.
I chose Hobbs Heirloom Premium cotton batting. The 45" x 60" size crib batting was perfect for my 40" x 40" quilt.
In the end, the quilt reminds me a bit of nautical signal flags, though that wasn't at all my inspiration. I'm toying with making another version in warm colors for my May project, though I'll likely decide to do something else
I had nearly enough of my remnant Rice binding from my Fortune Teller quilt and added scraps from the cut off edges of my quilt backing to lengthen the binding. A little hard to see in the photo above, but the two blue and green sections of binding are on the upper right and lower left corners of the quilt.
Please visit the other Island Batik Ambassadors to see their AccuQuilt Ready. Set. GO! Challenge Baby Quilts from this month.
I'm linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday and TGIFF.
Lisa J.
Hi Sarah. It's a great idea to teach your kids how to use the fabric cutter. It's a really nice quilt. Greens and blues really pop against the lighter background.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Lisa. I think that they will have fun with it.
Alison
I just love this quilt, Sarah! The wishbone quilting is so fun and I love the shade of thread you used for the quilting. Some of these batiks are similar to/some of the same ones I'm currently using from the Flea Market line and they are among my favorites of all time! :D And double yay for using scraps for the backing -- wooo!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Alison. As you know, I'm drawn to bold, bright colors. I recently came to the realization that I really needed to own more light colored thread as it blends so nicely across both light and dark fabrics. The Pastel large spool collection from Aurifil was the clear winner for adding colors I don't generally gravitate toward to my thread collection. This was the first one I pulled out to use and I look forward to using more of the pastels.
Barbara Gaddy
What a lovely quilt...enjoyed seeing the free motion quilting
sarah
Post authorThank you, Barbara. I didn't exactly have time for intricate free motion, but I'm glad I went for it even so close to the deadline. I do enjoy it.
Gene Black
I really love this quilt, Sarah. Like you, I do not strive for "perfection" in the quilting. I like a more organic feel most of the time. Those wishbones are particularly difficult for me to master. I know that it is an "easy" design - I am sure I need to practice, practice, practice. LOL
sarah
Post authorIt's also really easy to make wonky wishbones. :-) I don't generally practice a motif on a sample quilt sandwich before I go for it on my quilt, but this is one that would have been good to do so in the full size I was quilting. Thanks for visiting, Gene.
Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl
I can see the nautical flags and wonder what the warm colorway would be like.
sarah
Post authorI think my tendency to try something new will prevent me from making another version of this for now... I've decided to start some improv piecing with my warms and I'll see where it takes me. I may use this quilt as inspiration for the overall layout. Thanks for visiting, Yvonne.
Anja @ Anja Quilts
Well done. Glad to see you are enjoying the new foot. I'm sure the kids will love using the Accuquilt.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Anja!
Carole S.
Sweet quilt!!!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Carole.
Jayne
Gorgeous colors in this one! I think you and the IG people picked the perfect palette. How lucky to receive a AccuQuilt Cutter! I've often toyed with the idea of getting one, but I'm not sure it would be used often enough to justify the purchase. Love the quilting on it too...it suits the negative space!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Jayne. I borrowed an Accuquilt from a friend for another project to cut out perfect circles. That was a great benefit to the machine. I can see that it would get a lot of use by an appliqué quilter as well. There are tons of adorable dies available.
Sandra Walker
Great quilt Sarah, in my favourite colour combination! I've had an open toe FMQ foot since I bought my Bernina in 03 and I love it. Love the binding; had to look twice to find the blue and green sections; lovely quilting too!
sarah
Post authorThese are my favorite colors, too. :-) The open toe foot is a game changer. I'm not sure why I didn't change sooner. Thanks for visiting, Sandra.
Kathleen McCormick
I love this but the rainbow version would have been fun too. It is funny how a different quilting foot can make all the difference! Today I used a foot with a big circle and markings for echoing but I used it to find where I wanted to quilt and used it to follow lines too. The large wishbone is really fun with the bouncing bananas (as I heard a teacher call that pattern). Great job.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Kathleen! "Bouncing Bananas" is hilarious. Thanks for sharing. Happy quilting!