I have made progress on my Twisted quilt — I have a finished quilt top! Do you remember this project? I started it a long while back when my local quilt guild hosted a class taught by the pattern designer, Dorie Javier. (Pattern is available in my shop. Click here to see.) It was in June of last year that I began the quilt. I pulled it out once or twice since then and made a few more blocks for it. Then it would sit. Here we are, a year later, and I had hardly made any progress on it.
About two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sewing with my friend, Sophia. I decided this was the project to work on. Making the rest of the blocks went quickly. Playing with the layout took a little bit of time. At first I was sewing the four blocks together and then laying out the 12″ blocks but I realized I needed to play with colors and sprinkle the darker values out across the quilt. It worked better to layout some of the six inch blocks so I had more flexibility. I unpicked the seams on a number of the 12″ blocks to allow for this.
After settling on the layout and getting the design sewn together, I played with fabrics for the border. My first thought was to use a dark purple and a narrow strip of green. I posted the picture above on Instagram and asked for opinions. I love hearing from others because it often spurs me into another direction.
After looking at others’ feedback, I thought I would introduce a floral into the border. I looked at two from my shop. One was the High Meadow Floral from Amy Gibson’s Meriwether line and the other was Cat in the Flowers from Paint the Town.
It was a tough choice and I actually think either would work, but I went with Cat in the Flowers and a narrow purple border. I liked the deeper color of the High Meadow floral but I didn’t like the red tones in some of the flowers. Cat in the Flowers has a softer palette and it seemed to work a little bit better. Because it is directional, with the kitties all oriented in the same direction, I decided to attach the borders so that the cats were all looking out and away from the quilt’s center.
What do you think? I am so happy with the colors and the feminine, flowery vibe of the quilt top. We had some breezy weather and a comical quilt holder when trying to take pictures.
Now that the whole top is assembled, I am moving on to the next phase – time to decide how to quilt it! Like many of you, this is always a tough decision for me. At this point, I am thinking I will separate the quilting into three logical sections. The center of each set of four blocks, the lattice-like pattern created by the florals, and , of course, the borders.
Once I figure out how to quilt it, I will do it at home. Also, I have not yet decided on a backing for the quilt. I don’t have tons of yardage in my stash (well, if we don’t consider the shop fabric my stash!!). But it would be nice if I could use some stash up. Maybe I will piece a backing together or I could use a vintage sheet if I have one in a good color. Decisions, decisions
If you are interested in the Twisted quilt pattern, I carry it in my shop. There are also some of Dorie’s other patterns available too.
Feels good to have the quilt top done, some twelve months after starting it. How about you? Lots of UFO’s languishing? Do you have many quilt tops needing to be finished? Hopefully I will get this top basted over the weekend. It is supposed to be quite warm out so planning for an indoor project is a good idea. Have a great weekend everyone! I am linking up with the Friday favorites. Check them out at the top of the page, under Link Ups.
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Bet it feels good to have it done! I think your border choice was a good one. It’s a pretty quilt! Love the photos of Julia trying to tame the quilt! Haha! The only thing missing is her pig 🙂
The quilt top looks great. Choosing how to frame a quilt with borders and binding can sometimes take some careful consideration, and I think the choices you made finish the top beautifully.
I love your border choices! This top looks really great and I can’t wait to see it all quilted up. I’ve been plugging away at some UFOs lately, too, so I know how good it feels to see a languishing piece start to really take shape 🙂
I like the look with the printed border. It’s light and airy like the rest of the quilt (and looks great blowing in the breeze—and on the quilt holder). I never thought of eliminating the green altogether. The purple is really striking and makes the other purples in the quilt pop. Definitely a summery quilt. I’m still having blog issues. Don’t worry about replying—unless to tell me you can reply. I can’t seem to change my status from no reply back to the way it was. Still working on it.
Thanks Janine. Sorry you are still frustrated about the blog issues. It didn’t affect me since I am on WordPress. Hope it is resolved soon.
Your top is lovely! I like the idea of how you broke up the quilt into three sections when planning the quilting stitches. That makes it more manageable. I will have to do the same as I dread the quilting part because I never know what would be the best.
It is the hardest part. I am not all that confident with quilting so planning it is a challenge for me. I can picture what I want to do on the borders and the floral lattice but the centers are the challenge. It is a nice big space and I am not sure what I want to do with it.
Nice choices on the borders! Quilting design is always a hard part, standing and staring takes a bit of time.
Exactly. I am not going to rush. I need to decide how to quilt the negative space within the lattice. Thanks Carole!
That dark purple just sets off the whole range of colors in this top. The neutral muted background fabric really lets those prints shine, too. Excellent fabric choices, Bernie!
Thank you. I appreciate your comments. Color is something that I am working on and this quilt turned out just as I hoped it would. On to the next steps!
I like your Quilt so much. Looks easy and fun. I just contacted Dorie and ordered the pattern. Yay!
Beth
It is a good one! If you have any issues getting the pattern, I carry it in my shop as well.
Love your quilt still working on mine!
Thanks Denise. I love it too! It came together so fast once I got back into it. Now it is time to baste it and start the quilting!!
Beautiful, summery, flirty, fun, and delightful. You cannot go wrong with those lovely floral fabrics with a white background!!!
Thanks Preeti. I just figured out the backing for this and my batting arrived yesterday (I was out) So, no excuses now. Time to baste and quilt it!!
Congrats on finishing the top. It looks great. Good luck with quilting.
Thanks! I cut the backing yesterday and the batting came in so it is time to get serious and baste it. I am not totally set on a quilting plan but I suspect as I baste it, that will all come together. Fingers crossed!
Delightful! I can see how much fun it would be to play with placement!
Yes, it is a very fun pattern and can be put together lots of different ways. I have it all layered and pin-basted but I am struggling to decide how to quilt it. That is always such a difficult decision for me. I do hope to get it finished soon as I want to gift it to someone in a few weeks. I will probably do some straight line quilting on the diagonals through the florals. It is the white space in the centers that is throwing me for a loop. Ideas????