Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Finished Coins for Clara Quilt

I had another quilt-related marathon this weekend. I finished the Coins for Clara quilt. I wanted to try straight-line quilting on a larger scale - since I've only done a little bit on one quilt and a nametag - and I love how it turned out. I thought it would take way more time than it did (I think it was only about an hour and a half's worth of work).


I upped the stitch length to 7 and I think the longer stitches are the look I've been trying to get when I've attempted this in the past. I sewed two seams down each white sashing strips, about 3/4" apart, then turned the quilt and made a grid pattern that mostly outlined each coin section. I then added a few more lines to the middle sections.


I didn't worry about marking the quilt at all. I just let my lines be as straight as they wanted to be. It's a bit organic-looking and I love the non-rigidity of the not-perfectly-straight lines.


The quilting really accents the stacked coin design. Although I want to improve my free-motion skills, it's nice to have a quilt with quilting that looks decent.


In lieu of a separate label that I attached to the quilt back, I opted to write directly on the backing. But then I accidentally stitched right through my name. Oops.


I had some solid green in my stash and it happened to match the fabric collection perfectly so I used it with the brown print for the backing.


I tried a new binding method this time. (I've done the binding differently on every quilt I've made.) I've settled on the width that I like (3 inch strips), but haven't decided on the attaching method. This time, I tried Red Pepper Quilt's machine method. It made the front look pretty good, but I didn't catch the binding underneath a couple times so it looks a little funny. I guess if I had pinned the binding down I wouldn't have had that problem.

So far, I think the binding method I like the best is to attach the first part of the binding to the back of the quilt, then I fold it over to the front and topstitch it down. I've gotten pretty good results with even/straight stitches the last couple times I've used it so I think I'll stick with that method. I want to try hand stitching sometime, but my problem is that I'm too impatient. Even though I think hand stitching looks great, the thought of spending hours doing something by hand that I can do much quicker by machine makes me a little crazy. I'm making a doll quilt for my quilt group's color challenge so maybe I'll try hand sewing the binding on that small quilt.


The quilt measures about 43 inches square, before washing. My washing machine decided to go kaput this weekend and not spin the water out of the clothes. The new washer won't arrive until Friday. I love the washed look so I'm antsy for Friday to get here.

Do you wash your quilts after you've finished them, but before gifting them? There's a good discussion here that I'm totally on the same page with.

Make sure to check out Sew and Tell this week.


11 comments:

Leslie said...

i love the long stitches...they look great and so much like hand quilting. this turned out beautiful

Dee said...

such a beautiful quilt! love the colors and the back looks awesome. lovely!

Jessica Kelly said...

Such a beautiful bright fun quilt! I agree with you on all accounts here, love love the long stitch length, and your lines so so straight for not marking it! And I'm right with you on machine sewing the binding down, I like to use Red Pepper Quilts method, but there is definitly a learning curve, it has definitly taken a few quilts to get to a point to where Im not constantly missing the back of the binding. I'm definitly a pre wash kinda gal as well. Love the crinklyness and "worn in" feel it gives the quilt. Great finish!

Haylee said...

Your quilt looks great. I'm making one for my sister with the same fabric. I've made a coin quilt before, but I didn't think to alternate with a charm square. It is a great idea.

beth said...

what a lovely quilt. I know lots of people wash the quilt before giving...but I don't.

Dianne said...

What a beautiful quilt! I love the colors and I really like the longer stitch length you used to machine quilt with. I am going to have to try that next time, because I really like how yours turned out. I am new to amylouwho's site and her "Sew & Tell Fridays" and I'm so glad that I found her site and your's as well! :-)

Sarah Craig said...

That is a beautiful quilt! And I always wash my quilts (except for flannel ones) before gifting them - I think they are just so much more "quilty" after washing

Kimberly said...

Great quilt! Coin quilts are so much fun and they go together so quickly! I hate hand stitching the binding too. I am sooo slow at it. (A baby quilt will take me 6 hours or so.) The look is so great though that I still do it occasionally. I am def in the prewash camp. I love the crinkly look, plus I do not prewash my fabrics so I feel it is a must.

Catherine said...

Your quilting has turned out pretty good and i think the straight lines are perfect for this pattern. Great finish!

Lappedamen said...

Your quilt looks great. Pretty fabrics. Thank you for sharing those nice links. I don't wash my quilts after finishing them, but I wash all the fabrics I use before I start to sew.

Rachel at Stitched in Color said...

Very nice quilting. I like the big grid.

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