This idea has been on my mind for a little bit. I’m not the starter or big revolutions, but I do feel like I’m tired of making quilts with straight edges. This insistence on square corners and straight lines has been rubbing me the wrong way lately. With that in mind, I chatted with Irene Roderick at Quilting by the Lake and she suggested facing a quilt to make an irregular edge. The technique worked so well, that I’m now done with squaring off my art quilts. From now on, my fun quilts will be any shape they want to be. The revolution in my quilt shapes starts now.
I’ve shared this quilt project many times before. I love it so much. It started out as an experiment in Quilt Lab, called “try it three ways” way back in 2019. I’ve been working on it off and on since then. I stalled out with the finished top, because I wasn’t sure how I wanted to quilt it. I have done so much really intensive quilting, and it felt like doing less on my quilts was cheating. Luckily, I pulled my head out of my butt and just relaxed and played. The quilting is free and loose, and it felt great to spend some time on my longarm.
This quilt is called Portals III. I tried to come up with a more excitng name, but this is the name. This quilt has been stubborn from day one, and I’m not going to argue with it any more.
I shared this photo on social media last week, pointing out a tension problem. A lot of supportive people told me it didn’t matter. I appreciate the sentiment, and I’m not going to fix it. The reason I point it out is to explain that this is kind of eyelash on the back shows that the bobbin tension is a bit tighter than the top tension. I need to make an adjustment after cleaning out my bobbin case. This is “okay” and will not damage my quilt, but if I decide to enter this quilt into a judged show, this tension problem will count against me. My chances of winning depend on the quality of my competition, but this is an issue that a judge will call out. If you have similar issues and aspire to winning ribbons, pull stitches like this out and fix the problem.
Here is the back – check out the the faced binding. No label yet – I can’t find my Micron Pigma pen.
And this little corner mistake that I’m leaving just like this. This was my second attempt to get this side on correctly, and this mistake made me laugh. This is the danger of using scraps from the cutting table for facing strips.
Want to learn how to piece improv curves using 2 1/2″ strip sets (jelly rolls)? You can join me in a virtual class at Gotham Quilts. I’ll be prepping my support materials and listing the class soon. If you sign up for my newsletter you will be among the first to hear about it.
Oh, and the obligatory quilt inspector photo.
Sometimes you just have to let the quilt flow….and enjoy it’s uniqueness. I started following Maria Shell about 10 years ago, and she always said she was a traditional quilter, but in truth, both she and you are very modern with your methods and projects. I am glad your battle is won with this quilt!! Pup approved is nice as well.
It sounds like this quilt definitely had a mind of its own and was able to get you to really think about your choices in a good way. Facing for art and playful quilts can be perfect, but if you want to have organic shapes and a traditional binding for a bit more durability (if you plan on using the quilt – bindings / edges tend to see the most wear and tear), don’t forget bias made binding might be just the ticket!