Friday, November 17, 2017

Windy Days Quilt


A finish!  A finish!  I have a finish!!  One thing marked off the list of to do's.  This is the Windy Days Quilt by Sarah Meyer for Moda Bake Shop.  I've had this quilt on my bucket list for a while now and a co-worker expecting a baby was the perfect excuse to make it.


It started off life as this beautiful charm pack of Ambleside, yardage of Michael Miller Fairy Frost and some yardage for backing.


You might remember my slight melt down of thinking I didn't have enough 5" squares of the background fabric.  I learned an even bigger lesson: read your pattern completely and thoroughly before you start cutting.  The pattern actually calls for two charm packs of background fabric (which I cut from yardage).  I could have save myself a ton of time and worry.  I really didn't need as many squares as I thought I did.  I trimmed most of those 5" square down to 4.5" anyway.  If I had gave the pattern my 100% attention I would have figured that out way sooner and saved my rotary cutter blade.  Live and learn.

After all my pieces where trimmed I decided to lay everything out on the design wall to keep myself straight.


At this point, I was questioning my decision.  I just wasn't seeing my own vision marrying these fabrics to this pattern.  I continued to push forward.


As my pinwheels formed and rows came together, the quilt came to life.  Surprisingly, this quilt came together super quick.  The smaller pinwheels are formed by making four half square triangles all in one whack.


With a finished top, it was time to think about quilting.  I wanted quick and easy.  I searched on Pinterest for edge to edge design ideas.  I wanted to try something other than stipple or loops.  I found a pantograph design that looked like it wouldn't be too hard to free hand stitch and printed it out for reference.


I decided to try something a bit new to me.  Normally, I would just sit down and quilt something like this, no marking, quilting willy nilly.  This time, I marked 6.5" registration lines on the quilt and would fill the spaces with the design, like a pantograph.


I pinned the print out of the pantograph to the wall above my Sweet Sixteen so that I could reference it from time to time.  A big thanks to Oliver for the tail shot.  I guess he misses being on camera...he butted in.


I have to say, I really liked stitching the design this way.  The lines helped me to keep the motifs in proportion and spaced nicely.  Did I stay between the lines?  Of course not and that's okay, I wasn't necessarily trying to.  The goal was to fill the spaces as evenly as possible.


I quilted the top using Aurifil #2423 Baby Pink on the top and 2021 Natural White in my bobbin.  Both threads melted beautifully into the background leaving a wonderful soft texture to the quilt.


The binding was this pretty little yellow print and a white on white from my stash.


At the last minute, I decided to back the quilt in this soft flannel.  I'm not sure I'm in love with the shade of pink this flannel is when combined with the fairy frost on the front, but it's not bad.  This quilt was made to be used, and that flannel is just so soft...no regrets.


The little girl this quilt was made for is one week old today and it will be united with her very soon.  As always, my wish for this quilt is lots of snuggles and laughs and that it will bring years of comfort to her.


That wraps up my finish for this week.  I'm still looking for some sunshine to take pictures of the Butterfly quilt.  Hopefully, I can share it with you next week.  I may be silent for the next few days, with the Thanksgiving holiday knocking on our doors.  So I wish you all a wonderful week next week, just incase I disappear.


Today I'm linking up with Finished or Not Friday and Can I Get a Whoop! Whoop!

15 comments:

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

So very pretty and delicate, with the lovely quilting and snuggly backing it makes a perfect baby quilt. It's beautiful Tish.

Home Sewn By Us said...

Good Morning!
What a fabulous finish! That baby and mom will just adore this - how can they not?! The fabrics are so pretty and delicate, and pinwheels. Well, they are a weak spot for me. I'm going to PIN your finish so I remember that I too want to make one of these. ~smile~ Roseanne

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

What a great finish, Tish! Congratulations; I am absolutely positive this quilt is going to be cuddled, loved, drug, and used. The background fabric for the top has such a lovely shimmer and sheen to it. And Happy Thanksgiving to you, Dave, and your whole family as well!!

Tu-Na Quilts said...

HI, Tish! That's a gorgeous finish! Great tip on doing the quilting (taping a copy on the wall). Now that I'm in AZ, I'm needing to get myself signed up for quilting on our new Gammill that the quilting guild owns.

helenjean@midgetgemquilts said...

Beautiful quilt tish . I have one or maybe two if Ambleside charm packs . I really should use them soon

Paige said...

What a sweet baby quilt, Tish! I know it will be well loved!

Vicki in MN said...

I am glad you forged ahead and have such a calming finished quilt!

Stitchin At Home said...

Beautiful quilt sure to be loved. I like the idea of using a panto design and think you did a wonderful job on freehanding it.

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

I am bad for not fully reading patterns. Bad habit I need to break. I love the quilting. Well done!

Sue said...

This is a pretty little quilt Tish! I'm glad to see it came together easily without more stress!

Emily said...

So pretty! I'm glad you solved your background problem; I hate it when I'm just *this much* short! Flannel is always a good choice for baby quit backings and those elephants are cute. It will be loved!

Cheryl said...

Beautiful quilt finish! I really like the quilting design you used.

Preeti said...

It is definitely windy. And your sweet little quilt is a tease of spring in the middle of crisp fall. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sandra Walker said...

Just love this sweet quilt! See? That fairy frost is perfect, lending such a soft overall feel to the quilt. Yay for flannel backing!

SarahB said...

What a nice surprise to come across your post tonight! I am so pleased you enjoyed my Windy Days pattern and your version is so sweet!

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