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Wednesday, November 2, 2016

I Lost My Mind For a Minute (and NTT)

Happy NTT, y'all!  This is the edition where I show you everything I possibly can, without actually revealing the quilt that I made from the scrappy rainbow improv blocks I showed last week.  The quilt is for publication, so even though that fact is a big personal hooray, being secretive still stinks.  So, we'll just have to make do with a few peeks.


You all know that ordinarily, I use all of my leftovers on the backs of my quilts.  Well, when I'm quilting from my scrap jars, sometimes I'm at a loss.  Rainbow stripes to the rescue!  I love making a rainbow stripe backing for a scrappy quilt.  It pulls in all of the colors, so I feel like it matches without competing with the front, and best of all, it is a perfect stash buster.  These kinds of backings are great for using up fabrics that are more difficult to blend, like that goldenrod fabric (third from the top).  It's been sitting in my stash for awhile because it's too yellow to pair with oranges, and too orange to be considered a yellow.  It adds tons of depth to a rainbow though!

I also want to point out the quilting on this, because it is by far the element of the quilt of which I am most proud (read: the part that almost drove me insane).  Look at how tight the quilting is on the backing (the yellow shows the density really well), and now check out the close up.


Seriously.  Remember when I said once that you would never see me do matchstick quilting?  I must have taken leave of my senses, because this is almost as tightly quilted as matchsticks.  All. over. the. entire. quilt (54"x64").  I used an ENTIRE spool of Aurifil 50 wt. thread!  That's almost twelve hours of free-motion quilting, folks; which I know some of you do regularly, but it's entirely new territory for me.

The quarter is there for scale, but it's difficult to really tell how small this quilting is.  The space in the photo is only about 5 inches wide.   By the way, the background is Kona Shale, and I like the subtle contrast of the white thread.  I love the result, but I don't know that I'll ever quilt something this densely again.  Never say never though!


The binding is super scrappy, containing 27 different fabrics in varying lengths.  You can't really tell in the rolled quilt photo, but the binding is arranged in a rainbow as well (of course).  It's not a close-up, but you can see that on the full backing shot above.  I love how this quilt turned out, and though it will be awhile, I can't wait for you to see it!

Last week's party had some major eye candy, so let's check out the highlights!  This fun, traveling bee quilt is by Alison at Little Bunny Quilts.


The Lilac Cat shared this lovely Log Cabin Hybrid mini.  I love the layout of colorful and low volume fabrics in this one.  At only twelve inches square, it packs quite a punch!


and Jen's Crafts and Quilts Scrapbook linked up this sweet little Apple Patch baby quilt.


So, how about it?  I know that something you're working on is making you do a happy dance right now.  Let's link those projects up!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!
2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.
3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  
4. Spread the comment love far and wide!
5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)


8 comments:

  1. Love the quilting! I used that motif once...I think I need to try it again.

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  2. I love everything you've shown us and can't wait to see the front. So much rainbow goodness!

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  3. Such gorgeous sneak peeks! I love the quilting :)

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  4. Thanks so much for highlighting my Traveling Quilt Bee project! I always have an issue with quilting things too densely so I end up quilting for twice as long as I think it will take. :)

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  5. That is dense quilting - Looks really cool tho. Just time consuming and somewhat tiring for your neck and shoulders. Looking forward to seeing the whole deal!!

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  6. Wow I think I would lose my mind if I tried that quilting. Looks fabulous!

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  7. I guess we've all done one of those insane quilts with the really tight quilting. I'm recently out of the insanity ward, so I get it. But you know you love it!

    Matchstick quilting...oh, wow! It changes the quilt, and maybe the quilter. I've used it in small areas, like to highlight letters or words. It goes faster than you'd think; a bit like tight stippling. And like tight stippling, you can talk to yourself, the quilt, the universe, God. Surely somebody is listening and if you're lucky somebody will answer, right? (Yeah, yeah, back to the ward. :)

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  8. The rainbow backing would be a nice "front" quilt too. Looking forward to the big reveal whenever it is.

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