The Big Unveiling

I've finally done it.  My first ever quilt is finished!  I have to admit - I am pretty bloody proud of myself.  No, it isn't a masterpiece, far from it in fact, but it is 100% made by me and that makes me smile.  Ahh... the sense of accomplishment.  :)

Before making this quilt I had read and re-read a million blogs and tutorials to learn "how-to" but very quickly I discovered that there is nothing quite like jumping in and trying things for yourself.  Yes, I made mistakes.  No, it is not perfect.  But, more importantly than any of that, I learnt invaluable things along the way and I am super keen to get started on my next project.

The top was inspired by a design by Diane Banks of The Remnant Basket published in Patchwork & Stitching magazine, Vol 12, No 4.  Admittedly it is not at all what I had in mind when I first started cutting... and the whole thing constantly evolved as I went along.  For example, I was considering either yellow or orange sashing for quite some time but then suddenly switched to blue as I loved the way it made the reds and oranges pop (sorry Judi!).

Another change was with the actual quilting - it was originally going to be straight lines to show-off the design and showcase the prints.  Unfortunately, though, I made a few slight mistakes that resulted in some of the squares not lining up and, as I didn't want to highlight this further, straight lines were a no-go.  So instead I switched to organic line quilting which worked quite nicely, if not exactly as I had originally pictured.

As I didn't want (or need) to further complicate the process for this, my first time, I left the back plain and just used one piece of the dark blue alphabet fabric, to match up with the squares used on the front.  Unfortunately I stuffed-up during the basting process by forgetting to tape the backing fabric down before pinning so there are a few puckers.  But... they don't stand-out too much, especially from a distance.  And... I'm sure Mr M won't mind a few mistakes here and there.  ;)

Overall I think that my first ever binding job went well... but a bit of practise on the mitred corners wouldn't go astray.  Surprisingly, though, I enjoyed chilling out on the couch with a glass of wine while hand-stitching the back - it was slightly cathartic in it's own strange way.  And the results are great.  I used a basic stripe which incorporated all the colours used on the top.  I love the way it finishes everything off and brings it all together.

So, to the darling Mr M (otherwise known as 'Superman') -  I dearly hope you love this quilt as much as I have loved making it for you.   xo

Again I apologise for the poor quality of these photographs.  I really do need to work on my picture taking skills.  Well that... and remember to wear my glasses during shoots.  ;)

E.