Tag: Sweet Pea pantograph

Turkey Tracks:  October 13, 2011

Sweet Pea Quilt

I’ve just finished one of the happiest quilts I’ve ever done.  I adore this quilt.

I find I’m increasingly drawn to bright contemporary fabrics these days.  They are so full of life and energy.

This quilt was a kit from Mainely Sewing in Nobleboro, Maine.  The kit was called “Layer Cake,” I think, and it’s made from Kaffe Fasset prints.   Marge has a strong internet business, so you can get this quilt or any of her other quilts online:  www.mainelysewing.com .  You buy the different “layers” until you make the size quilt you want.  One package makes a small quilt, and so on.

The pattern starts with 10″ squares.  One cuts off two long strips and two short ones–what remains is the inner square.  Then, you just start mixing and matching strips to inner squares.  I think this method would be a really fun way to diminish a large stash and I’ll try that soon.  Probably the way to control mixed fabrics from a stash would be to choose one color–or only a few colors.

Here’s the back–I got this fabric on sale at Quilt Divas in Rockland, Maine.  The fabric is a rich lime color, and it’s perfect for this quilt.  The “stem” of the leaves is a strong pink:

Here’s a close-up of the front.  I quilted it with lime green thread–on the long-arm–with a pantograph called “Sweet Pea Scramble”–  Iahttp://www.lovetoquilt.com/quilting-pantographs-and-roll-patterns/golden-threads/roll-patterns-8-inch.htm.  I’m really loving learning to use the long-arm, and I really like using a pantograph for a quilt like this one where there are no borders and one doesn’t want the quilting to get in the way of the fabrics.  I’m getting much better with the tension on the long-arm–it’s just so different from a domestic machine.

Here you can see how a lively, colorful quilt like this one can perk up a bedroom, even when just folded across the end of a bed:

Here’s one more view of some of the fabrics in the quilt: