It seems like I finished this quilt a while ago. You might remember that I made this as part of a quiltalong with Jennifer from Inquiring Quilter. Probably two weeks ago I finished up the quilting and got the binding stitched about 75% of the way. Then it sat there. I was distracted by purses and other fun projects. Yesterday afternoon I was able to stitch that last bit of binding down while Julia rested that poor pinkie toe of hers and it is now complete.
The movement caused by the diagonal placement of the charms and those cute little HST’s make this quilt. The black, white and cobalt blue also worked very well together. (Though if I were to do this again, I think I would bind it in black. )
All of the quilting is curved (rather than angular) which complements the angular structure of the charm squares, borders, and HST’s. As far as my FMQ goes, this looks reasonable but is still not where I want to be. The only way to get there is to continue practicing, which is the plan! I look forward to washing this and letting it crinkle because that will hide some of the jitters in my stitching.
Because I am lax in my use of quilt labels (meaning I label about 1 out of 12 projects) I stitched my initials on one of the HST’s. At least that will give someone a hint as to who made this.
I also put the month and year in. This was kind of funny though. I was stitching the binding down and saw that I had left one bit of blue border empty so I took it over to the machine and quickly filled it in. I like it!
For the backing I chose a print from the Good Neighbors line designed by Amanda Jean Nyberg of Crazy Mom Quilts. I am very happy with this fabric as it has a nice feel to it and the price is right (as it is with most of the fabric over at Connecting Threads.) It has a bright bit of color to it and the pattern hides some of the FMQ wiggles too.
Finally, as with Amish tradition, there is one mistake. Look at these HST’s! The block was stitched incorrectly but I didn’t notice this until I was quilting up to these HST’s. Ah, well, this is testament to the imperfection of our craft! Or, another way to look at it: ‘A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections.’ (Chinese Proverb)
This was a fun experience, between the social aspects of the quiltalong, using these particular colors (which I have wanted to do for quite a while), and furthering my FMQ just a bit, it was very satisfying. Hopefully you are enjoying your projects too. If you are in the US, have a great Memorial weekend. We are supposed to have some hot weather over the next couple of days – here comes summer!
Linking to my usuals! Check them out at the top of the page, under Link Ups.
Love the fabric in your quilt and the colors are great too!
Thank you Shannon. I had fun collecting all of the black and white charms. It is a great color scheme – kind of dramatic.
I just love that quilt, gorgeous!
Thank you! I appreciate your kind comment. Have a great weekend.
Lovely finish, Bernie, and I agree that those HSTs really add just the right touch and movement to the quilt!
Thank you! They were a bit of a pain to make (I don’t like fussing with tiny pieces.) But it was worth it! The effect is pretty cool.
It’s amazing the difference those HSTs make in this quilt. Beautiful finish with great colors.
They were somewhat tedious but worth it in the end. They add a lot to the look of the quilt. Hope you are enjoying the weekend!
I love the black and white with cobalt! It makes for such a fantastically dramatic quilt. I wanted to join the QAL for this one but I didn’t have the time. I’ve been enjoying seeing everyone’s different versions of this quilt.
Thanks Sarah. There are so many fun opportunities, QAL’s, swaps, bees…. Make it tough to choose, but there are only so many hours in the day, right?
Congrats on your finish! Love the addition of those HST’s and how you even put your initials in one. And I really love the addition of all the curvy quilting. It’s another layer of yumminess.
Thank you Tish. It all came together well. The quilting process is getting to be more comfortable which makes me so happy. I have plans for two queen size quilts and I’m trying to decide whether I can quilt them on my Janome here at home. I have only done one quilt that large and with that one, I just stitched in the ditch. It was fairly unwieldy. We shall see!
I love the tiny half square triangles, it really lifts the quilt. Your quilting skills just get better and better. Another successful finish.
Thanks Kate. I appreciate the compliment. ?
What a great finish! The quilting looks great! And that blue is one of my favprite colors. So pretty!
This is amazing, so striking!! Such great color choices, you have such an eye for color. I love it.
So neat to see this all done, Bernie! My favorite part still is all those little confetti triangles sprinkled across the quilt. And I think that rogue HST just adds fun interest.
Rogue HST. That sounds so much better than that ‘upside down, misplaced block’. Thanks Janine!
This is really cool. I love those tiny HST’s. They do add such a great movement to the quilt, but Oh My I’ll bet you were glad to have them done! I LOVE the Amish mistake. I have always loved that custom and I am happily content when one shows up in my work. Sometimes, I’m Double-Amish. LOL. I’ve been working on my blog as a result of the 2016 New Blogger’s Hop. Pop over and take a look at the changes when you have time. Happy Memorial Day!
Thanks Tami. Yep, I was glad to be done with those little guys.
I am going to hop over and check out your changes!
Gosh Bernie, I have seen quite a few stepping stones quilts, but none with quite so much movement as yours. Somehow the colour contrasts make the whole quilt vibrate! Such a fabulous quilt!
Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks!
Love, Muv
Thank you! I appreciate the compliment. I am quite happy with it. Hope you are well!