For this quilt, which I’ve named Sherbet and Stripes, I tried foundation piecing for the first time. I learned the technique from a pillow I found in Modern Mix by Jessica Levitt. The final measurements are 40 x 60, making it perfect for a young girl’s room or a lap quilt.
The fabrics I chose are a combination of Echo by Lotta Jansdotter and Too Muchery by Helen Dardik, plus a Joann print or two. The sashing is Kona Snow, backed in Moda Essential Dots in coral, and bound in another dot fabric that, for the life of me, I can’t remember who makes it.
I made a pieced strip of the prints on the back, not to create an interesting backing piece, but because I didn’t buy enough backing fabric! But I really love how it looks.
Overall, I’m very pleased with how it turned out. The quilting is still a little iffy to me — I just don’t have a lot of experience so it’s not as clean as I would have loved, and this was the first time I’d quilted anything but straight lines. But once I washed it I was much happier with the results. I also wish my corners were a little crisper, but really, that’s just a nitpick.
The one thing I haven’t done yet is get labels made. I’m still trying to figure out the best way (for me) to label a quilt — any suggestions?
[Remember: if you "like" my blog on Facebook between now and 5:00pm PST on Monday, you'll win a mugrug and matching mug!]
I used to make labels by writing with a permanent ink pen on muslin and stitching it to the back. I stopped doing it because I never liked the way it turned out. So I stopped labeling my quilts at all. I regret that decision a little. In hindsight, I would have liked to take credit for the multitude of baby quilts I’ve made. I’ve been informally researching different options the last few months. You can get woven labels made (Fresh Lemon Quilts just posted about hers) or custom printed labels (on twill tape). I think I may try making my own using this tutorial, http://patchworkpottery.blogspot.com/2008/09/fabric-labels-tutorial.html, only I’ll probably use 2 inch tape and fold it over. I like the tag
The difference is that I’ll probably use a wider tape and fold it over so it looks more tag-like.
I’ve been researching all over and hadn’t seen that twill tape method — I really like it! I’ll probably use wider tape to get my little “logo” on there. I think that will be easier and more economical than getting some made, at least for now. Thanks for the tip! :)
Wow, Cori! Your quilts look so amazing. I think you have more patience than me because I decided not to do my own quilting ever again after Margaret’s baby quilt. Are you doing it on a regular-sized sewing machine? (I mean the actual quilting, not the top work.) Maybe my problem was being 7 months pregnant and leaning over the machine killed my back with the belly weighing me down.
Thank you! Yes, I quilted it on my regular machine. It’s my least favorite part of the whole process — wrangling the quilt through my machine is difficult and makes my back hurt and I’m not anywhere close to preggers! I can’t imagine how you did it. I find straight lines and slightly wavy lines are easiest. If I was going to make anything bigger than a twin, I’d probably send it out to be quilted — it’s just too much fabric! I wish I knew someone around here with a long-arm. I’d love to learn.