Tah dah! It is time to share my finished Better Together Quilt. I managed to keep up with the quilt along, since Elizabeth was kind enough to add in a catch-up week. Check out Quilter’s Candy for more details on the sew along and to get the pattern.
My quilt was made using my Island Batik scrap bin and some yardage of Island Batik solid in grey. You can see the details of the beginning of the project here.
Once all of the half square triangles were squared up, thanks to my Bloc Loc ruler, they went up onto the design wall. I considered doing some kind of color wash sorting, but I wasn’t feeling it. Instead, I took all of the units back down, then sewed them into pairs. I pressed the seams open, then put the pairs up onto the wall. I made a small effort to distribute all of the colors around the quilt, trying to keep them from clumping up.
Then it was just a matter of making time every few days to do a little bit of stitching. This is the part of the quilt I love the most – watching the pieces come together from an out of focus blur into the finished top.
Once the top was together, it was over to the longarm. I decided to use a new pantograph for this one – Arrowfull by Urban Elementz. It was quilted using So Fine thread in grey.
The backing is from my wide-back stash. It is called Blueberry Park from Robert Kaufman.
I opted to use batting scraps for the batting on this one. I have an ever-growing pile of batting scraps that is threatening to take over my studio. On the longarm, I don’t bother to piece the batting together. Instead, I just make sure I’m using a dense pattern, and give them a tiny bit of overlap. It really never makes a difference in the amount of batting in the pile, but that’s okay. And yes, you can find the spot where the batting is 2 layers, but only if you are looking for it. It feels a bit thicker, but is not visible.
The binding is more Island Batik. Y’all, I think those scraps are multiplying in that bin when I’m not looking at them.
Here it is, my finished quilt. Isn’t it lovely? Would you like it to be your quilt? You can find it for sale in my Etsy shop.
My Better Together quilt finished at 48″ x 60″, which I think is just about perfect for a throw quilt. I used a couple of extra blocks for a label. Oscar and I think it is important to label your quilts. I attach the label as I’m putting on the binding. Two sides are caught under the binding, and two sides are stitched down by hand. It’s easier and sturdier. And hooray for two little orphan blocks finding a home.
Hi Jen! This is just a fabulous finish. Of course, Oscar’s approval means it’s truly a winner. You did a great job spreading out the color and those random larger HSTs are fun. What a daunting project at first – all those HSTs to trim. But I like the Bloc-Loc, too. Thanks for sharing the pattern link. I’ll go check it out. Enjoy the long weekend and holiday. ~smile~ Roseanne
What a wonderful way to use some of those scraps…but you are right, the scrap piles grow exponentially and beyond imagination. It’s never going to be controlled. I love the colors and layout of this quilt and I like that you set aside time each day to do some of the stitching. If only I could remember to do that. Congratulations on a great finish.
I think that watching blocks get sewn into a quilt top is a magical process; seeing the seam allowances disappear and the design become crisp is so satisfying!
I hate throwing away batting scraps! Do you always use the same type or do you mix brands? I haven’t been making many small projects so I’m thinking of just zigging all my long pieces together.
Hi, Lisa – I always use the same type together. I tend to keep them sorted out. It feels awesome to get a free batting from the pile every once in a while.
I love the way this turned out. I am interested in your “nonfranken batting” approach as I just sewed some together to use on the longarm…genius.