#blue gradient quilt

[serendipitouscrafts]

The blue triangle gradient quilt is done and ready to go to my friend to honor her new PhD. I figure if people get quilts for getting married and having babies, surely a PhD is worthy of a quilt. It is machine pieced and hand quilted. It is what I would call a “generous throw” in terms of size. Not a bed quilt, but big enough for everyone on the couch to share without too much grumbling.

The sexy founding fathers fabric wouldn’t be my typical choice of backing, but I knew it would make my friend laugh. I would have put it all the way across the back, but when I was buying the fabric for this quilt several years ago, I was pretty broke and the novelty fabric was actually the most expensive part of the quilt. It is an Alexander Henry print in case anyone is curious.

[serendipitouscrafts]

My sewing machine needs a tune up. The tension is all over the place and the resulting stitches are very ugly.

I used it to see the binding onto the back of the quilt, but i decided it is too uneven for finishing the binding. So, instead I am wrapping the binding over and tacking it down by hand. It is taking a long time. I have always done the whole binding process on the machine, but the hand finishing looks so good, I almost want to ask for every quilt I have ever made back so I can tear off the inferior machine binding and do them over by hand.

[serendipitouscrafts]

Nothing like getting excited about a new project to motivate you to get an old one done and out of the way. I am almost 3/4 done quilting the blue triangle quilt.

I am considering incorporating cotton velveteen into the ballerinas blooming quilt. I can’t find much on epp with velvet or velveteen, but surely I can’t be the first person to attempt it.

[serendipitouscrafts]

My boyfriend and I have become old people stereotypes. We don’t have work tomorrow so he is doing a crossword and I am quilting.

[serendipitouscrafts]

This is what it looked like outside today (the first real snow of the year).

Which called for an evening of hand quilting in front of the fire in pajamas.

[serendipitouscrafts]

I decided to push forward on the blue gradient throw quilt before I start working on the mermaid baby quilt. The top is about 3/5ths done and I am pleased with how it is going. I think I am going to make it slightly wider, both to use up a little more of the fabric, and because who doesn’t like generously sized throw blanket. Of course, in my enthusiasm for piecing I am in danger of making it too big easily quilt on my machine.

[serendipitouscrafts]

Okay, I have lost my mind. I think I am going to hand quilt this one. I wasn’t in love with how the machine quilting was coming out, and I was getting a lot of puckering on the back, even when I was just doing parallel lines. I was spending mote time unpicking things than actually quilting.