I didn't really have a chance to take pictures before I left, so I tried to get some outside the reception center once we got there. The parents of the groom were so kind to offer to hold the quilt up for me! I didn't get the greatest pictures because the light was weird and I didn't want to keep my helpers out in the hot sun for too long...
I went ahead and quilted it the same as Jacquie's quilt. (See my other posts about the quilt top HERE, my inspiration for the quilt HERE, and the beginning/fabric selection HERE.)
I didn't want the quilt to be too stiff, so I quilted the lines farther apart than I normally would have. I don't have a walking foot, but the lines were too far apart to use the presser foot as a guide anyway. So I got out my blue water soluble marker and my big ruler and drew all the lines on the quilt beforehand. Then I quilted the whole thing with my free motion foot. Yep, all those straight lines were quilted free hand. No feed dogs or anything to regulate my stitch length or keep things straight. I figured the inevitable waviness would give the quilt an "organic" or "homemade" look. Of course, once you step away from the quilt and look at the whole thing, you can't really see the waviness. Thank goodness.
I think the back looks kinda cool. I used a queen size sheet for backing because it was slightly cheaper and I didn't want to worry about piecing a back this time around. I was super frustrated for awhile when I was quilting it, though. To the point where Hubby had to drag me away from the machine and force me to go to bed. My sewing machine was having all kinds of issues.
For future reference, this is what I learned (skip this part if you want - I had a lot to learn):
-For a huge quilt like this one, spray basting was definitely easiest. Luckily, the boys took a 2 1/2 hour nap one day and I was able to get the whole thing done. I took the top and back outside to spray them, then brought them inside to sandwich them. I even ironed the quilt sandwich after basting. I got the ironing idea from a blog somewhere one time... I think it helped prevent the back from getting too many puckers. The ironing was hard work (lots of pulling and repositioning to get rid of wrinkles), but I *think* it helped and it didn't seem to affect the basting. HOWEVER, the sticky spray basting may have been part of why my machine kept skipping stitches or breaking thread...
-NEVER buy polyester thread again. Who knows if that was the issue. I bought polyester on accident but when I finally switched to cotton/poly, my thread seemed to go longer without breaking.
-My sewing machine doesn't like to sew sideways. The thread gets wound around the eye of the needle and causes all sorts of problems. It took almost an entire section of diagonal lines to figure that one out.
-Constant vigilance is required when quilting a huge quilt - DO NOT ALLOW ANY PART OF THE QUILT TO DRAG!!! This includes the part of the quilt that is in front of the machine. When I let my attention slip, I think it was the drag that caused some of my problems.
-In the end, everything turns out just fine.
For the binding, I thought this more colorful print would look nice framing a basically solid quilt. I like it.
And one more shot. Not the best one, since I took this at 10:30 pm right after I finished sewing the binding, BEFORE I put it in the washer (you can still see the blue lines from my marking). I really like how the binding pops. Oops. I should go fold those other quilts in the corner. Doing that right now.
Sister-in-law (as well as her new hubby) loved it! I'm so glad. This was a fun quilt to make. Different. Fresh. Modern. I would love to make another one... someday.
Quilt stats:
Started: Early May, 2012
Finished: June 22, 2012
Fabrics: Timeless Treasure Sketch Basics
Finished size: About 86" x 98"
Recipient: Sister-in-Law L - for her wedding to J, June 2012
For those visiting from Lee's, welcome and thanks for stopping by!
Next up: Baby puff quilt, Fandango quilting, and something to cover my sewing machine with.
