The Sewing Table - Finished Quilt Update

Have I mentioned I love our deck. I am out here this beautiful Friday morning, drinking my coffee, enjoying the birds, and feeling the sun on my face. Thankfully, it isn’t too hot and humid and there’s a breeze that doesn’t have any heat. Perfect.

It’s amazing what a graduation invite can motivate you to do. We received a note for one of our neighbors and we were just going to give money. And while no, we aren’t super close with them, I wasn’t feeling that great about yet again, giving someone “just money.”

I’ve been on a roll and motivated to wrap-up some lingering projects when I remembered a quilt top I had put together a long time ago, 2019 in fact. I pulled it out and realized, it was a perfect size for a high-schooler.

You can read more about how this project came to be here. In 2019, I tried to set some monthly quilting goals/projects and in January, I wanted to make something from my Quilting Inspiration Board over on Pinterest. I had some individual block ideas where I could use a jelly roll, and I had one available, but not a lot of background material. So, I made some changes with how a block I liked was made, played with the layout, and this was the final result.

The quilt top is 52”x52” and is the perfect size for a graduate. My mom called it “Hidden Spools” because she through she saw thread spools in one of the blocks. The finished size is perfect for a quilt to sit on outside and study, cute dorm room decoration, and a nice size for just a little extra warmth. A “picnic” quilt if you will. It also isn’t so large it was a huge investment of time and money; to me it is a gift that’s just right for the occasion (and we aren’t just giving money again). Last weekend, I picked up backing and binding, pulled out some batting I’ve picked up, and got to work.

I quilted on Sunday, bound on Monday, took pictures Tuesday, and shared with my quilt guild on Thursday.

I have not done a lot of quilting on my machine and I decided to use this as an occasion to practice. I did a cross-hatch where I followed the seams and went corner-to-corner (diagonal). I am not afraid to say I need more practice, and I am happy with the final look. I went with blue thread on top as its an accent color in some of the material, along with orange and green. I was afraid it might be too bold, but it blended in well with all the material and adds just enough contrast and texture. It should scrunch up nicely when it’s washed.

Here’s a view from the back.

I was happy with the reception the quilt received at guild - I got a few ahh’s from the crowd. I haven’t brought a quilt to share in a while, so it was nice to get a little encouragement.

Working on this quilt and the blog I wrote on it made me so happy I blog about my quilting adventures. I was able to go back in time and remember making this, have the start of a pattern written, and I know what I’d change to make it easier to make.

There are some mistakes in this quilt top and I do agree with myself on trying another one using an only two colors to help with the final placement. I would also like trying to make a scrappy version with fat quarters instead of a jelly roll. Heck, you could even use a layer cake (I’m not a big fan of these anymore, but you could).

What do you think? What version would you like to see next? Another scrappy one - two-colors - another jelly roll? Let me know in the comments.