Oh, how I love this finish! I’m not positive, but I think this quilt (so far) is the one that I have spent the most time on. I don’t track hours or anything like that, but I feel like this one has many hours into it. For RSC15 I made a row quilt by following along with Mari and her Classic Stitches BOM. Each row consists of a set of blocks that root back in quilting history. Mari chose an excellent sampling of blocks and I was able to complete nine of her eleven tutorials. A couple of them were too challenging for me and I substituted easier blocks those two months.
Overall, I absolutely adore this quilt. I love the bright, crazy, scrappy look, the traditional blocks that change row by row, sampler style, and the quilting that I did on each row. It was a great experience for me in a couple of different ways.
First of all, row quilts are a challenge in that it is tough to get each row to come out the same length. My supposition is that with all of the handling of each block and each row, month over month, they stretch a bit and become distorted. This quilt is absolutely not going to be entered into any juried shows! it is not even close to square. I sashed it because I wanted lines separating each row to give the eye a place to rest; this is a busy quilt. Additionally, the blocks are not accurately pieced enough to match row upon row. Did I cut off any points? Oh yeah. So by sashing them, I was able to deal with a lot of those issues. Cutting 60″ rows of sashing allowed me to ease the rows in and deal with any rows that were slightly longer than 60″. Really, sashing hides a multitude of issues. 🙂
I had a great time quilting this project. At 60″ by 70″, it was a reasonable size to FMQ on my machine. I chose a different motif for each row which was a great way to quilt it without getting bored half way through. Some motifs were easier than others but for the most part, I am very pleased with the result.
Lazy little flowers meander over the blue Water Wheel row.
I quilted meandering hearts over the pink row. They turned out decent but they were harder than I expected.
The orange Dutchman’s Puzzle blocks made for my favorite row. With these tiny pieces, my row had a fair-sized ripple to it and I was concerned about quilting it. After consulting with one of my favorite quilters, Janine over at Quilts From the Little House, I decided to use a tight meander. She felt like I could quilt the row into submission, and it worked. Yay Janine! Definitely good advice.
The yellow row of Double Stars is another favorite. I decided to quilt each individual star, rather than cruising over the entire row and I am very happy with the resulting flower contained within each star.
The green row of Crosses and Losses blocks is quilted with little swirls. These were tough. They are a bit more herky-jerky than I would like but this is where I am at this point in my quilting. With each row, I worked right to left, preferring to begin with the bulk of the quilt bunched into the throat and then feed the quilt out. So the right side of the rows are a bit rougher than the left. I improved as I went along. I plan to only look at the good half. 😉
The brown Pennsylvania blocks are sporting a Baptist Fan motif. Since I rarely get around to labeling a quilt, I also put my initials on the very far right corner. (On this row I did work left to right. It seemed easier to get the fans moving in that direction.) Again, these turned out ok – they look better from a distance than up close. Curves are tough.
Here is a peek at the back. I love the simplicity of the back since the front is so raucous. With the tiny floral print, the quilting really doesn’t show but that is fine. Crazy on the front and calm on the back! I used the backing fabric as binding too. The little floral has a vintage look to it that works with these traditional blocks.
Yep, I love this quilt and learned so much from the process of making and quilting it. It was a wonderful project and I am so grateful to Mari for all the time she took to create the tutorials each month and her patience with my whiny emails about how hard the blocks were! Her bit of history behind each block was an added bonus each month.
Linking this week with Linky Tuesday, Sew Cute Tuesday, Freemotion Mavericks and Finish it Up Friday.
Such a beautiful finish Bernie! Quilting different motifs on each of the rows was a great idea and I love that vintage backing fabric. I think I have that same fabric in the purple colorway.
Thank you Diana. I do love finishing a project up. It is so satisfying and it means I get to start a new one! (I am not one for having tons of UFO’s.) Hope you are well and getting lots of time to sew. Not easy when you have small children. 🙂
Congratulations on getting this quilt all finished up. I grinned when I read the advice to “quilt it into submission”. It looks like this was a great project to stretch your free motion quilting and I hope it gives you confidence to do more and more FMQing work. Oh, and hearts can be very tricky, I definitely feel like I get in a “rut” when I make them and changing directions and moving across the quilt top feels harder in that design for some reason. Probably means I have room to grow and practice, huh?
Ha. Thanks Yvonne. Glad you liked it. 🙂
It was a great practice piece in so many ways. Definitely helped with precision. I really enjoy the quilting part of the project and this provided lots of FMQ time.
Wow Bernie, there is so much I love about this gorgeous quilt! First of all I love the vintage-y theme of it, but it also has a modern look – to me that is the best of both worlds. Lol on “quilt the row into submission”! I love the sashing and your reasons for it. Love that you put one of the rows on the back. I did a double-take on the Double Stars – I didn’t remember that row (although I’m sure I saw it), and those are really neat! Your FMQ for each row is just amazing. I am trying hard not to be jealous of your skills but to be happy for you instead. 😉 You have good reason to adore this quilt. Is it traveling to Downieville or will it stay with you?
By the way, very clever way to hang that quilt for your photograph!! (Doing a V-8 “head-slap” on that one.)
Like those fancy hangers that hold my quilt? Yesterday I was looking for a place to take pics with the right lighting and that spot on my deck was petty good. So I needed a way to hang the quilt from the deck railings! Worked out ok- the hangers aren’t exactly classy but they are functional.
Take care Linda!
Congratulations Bernie! It turned out so terrific! I love that you quilted each row differently, and I especially love how you did the stars. So cute! I laughed too about “quilting it into submission,” but it definitely worked. The orange row looks great, and I love the backing too. What a great finish!
Ah, thank you! Such sweet comments. Will you email me your address? I have something to pop in the mail to you but I only have your WI address.
Congratulations on a beauty! It is a fun-filled, whimsical, sweet, sweet quilt – and looks like a delight to snuggle under, or just hang and admire!
Whimsical is a great description for this one! Thanks for stopping by Andrea.
So much fun! What a great idea for attacking the RSC. I love it!
Thank you — It was a really fun project and a great scrap buster. 🙂
What a great quilt!! I love all your rows and your different quilting in each area- how fun it that??!! and your backing is so pretty! awesome!
Thank you for your sweet comment Debbie!
Visiting from Let’s Bee Social – this quilt is gorgeous! I have a row quilt on my to do list this year and this reminds me why!
How sweet! This is my first row quilt – but certainly not my last! I love it.
I just love this quilt and you did a wonderful job! I had to smile at the points mention as that’s always up in the air with me no matter how careful I may be ! Sashing is a great idea ; here and there I am making some granny blocks and there’s sashing in between to make my life easier!
This just turned out beautifully!
Aw, Bernie, thanks for the shout-out. I’m glad the meandering worked out for you on the orange row. This looks like such a fun quilt for you to try out all the different FMQ patterns. It’s not necessary for me to have a favorite–but I do love those little lazy little flowers! And the fun fabrics! Row quilts are always so happy, and you and Mari teamed up to make a great one!!
Bernie, your quilt is wonderful–so happy and bright. You did a lovely job on it; it makes me smile!
Thank you Jeri. Comments like yours make me smile. ???
Quilting into submission, will have to remember that. A great finish!
It worked too. I used a tighter meander and left the sashing above and below the row unquilted. I was so pleased because that row was definitely not lying flat!! Have a good weekend Heather.
I love your quilt, Bernie! It is so beautiful. I like the phrase to ‘Quilt it into submission.’ And I am glad it worked! Have a good weekend! 🙂 Hannah
Hello Bernie,
I take my hat off to you for quilting such a large quilt all in one piece. Sampler quilts are fascinating, and I love the range of colours and all the different FMQ motifs. The flowery meander is really pretty.
Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks!
Love, Muv
Aww, thank you Muv. It wasn’t too difficult to quilt since I was just going from one side to the other. Hope your at has been wonderful!
This is a delightful quilt! I’ve always loved row quilts, even before they became popular! Well done!
Thank you! This is one of my favorite quilts that I have made so far. I would definitely do another one.