Saturday, February 18, 2017

String Quilt for a New Grandmother

Ok. I got sidetracked. Instead of working on Coins or Spiderweb, I finished a top for a dear friend who recently became a grandmother. No complaints though. A finished quilt is always a win plus it only took a day to baste, quilt and bind this little toddler quilt which will be perfect to use when the baby visits.

String quilt quilted with a grid pattern using a walking foot.
Red and yellow string quilt, quilted and bound

The quilting design is a variation of the one I used on the blue string quilt. This time I stitched in the ditch of all the blocks then stitched a half-inch away on each side. Finally I divided the remaining space into half and half again (four equal-ish sections.) It was easy to quilt from point to point with the walking foot after eyeballing the spacing and marking it with straight pins. The ditch stitches only show on the back; that makes the front a bit plainer than intended.

Quilting point to point using
straight pins to mark the points.

The fabric for the back has been in my stash for years. {In fact, I just culled it. Sitting on top of the "future sleeve" pile made it more noticeable.} What a treat to have sufficient yardage for the entire back.

Red and Yellow String quilt detail:
quilting, binding, and backing

The same fabric creates the binding, too. It is cut separately, not pulled from the back. The fabric is naturally blurry and a third of a yard still remains.

The best thread color turned out to be brown. Blending with both red and yellow, it's not too harsh on either color.

Quilting detail, red and yellow string quilt

Quilt Details
Size: 40" x 48"
Design: String quilt on paper foundation
Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton
Thread: Brown Metler cotton
Quilting: Walking foot on a domestic machine

Enjoy the day, Ann