Tuesday, January 24, 2012

First Finish of 2012

This is my first finished quilt of 2012!
The batik quilt blocks were donated by Beverly from my quilt guild. She didn't like the blocks and I loved them...aren't they so colourful and happy?!?  
I put a purple sashing around the blocks last April, and bought the purple with orange flowers batik for the backing in June. You can see the backing in the top left corner of this photo... it's so pretty. 
I did a very simple machine quilting pattern...wavy lines around the squares in each block and a few wavy lines down the sashing. It's my favorite quilting design to use when I want something fast and easy to get a quilt finished.

I like to try new techniques so thought I would try putting on the binding Annie's way, which is to sew on the binding first and then trim the quilt after. She said that the backing and batting lay flatter, and she never has wavy edges. I usually trim the quilt first and then add the binding after.

So I tried Annie's way and the quilt edges are indeed very flat. However, I nicked one of the corners when I was trimming the batting...can you see here where I cut the fold...yikes! The cut only went through 1 layer of my bifold binding, so I just left it :) Next time I'll try to be more careful with the trimming!
Thanks for the tips Annie on trying a new binding technique! Isn't blogland wonderful?!?
This quilt will be donated to my guild's community outreach program.

18 comments:

Paula, the quilter said...

It is a dull gray January day here and your cheery quilt just brightened the day. Wonderful!

*karendianne. said...

What a happy quilt! I love seeing the pretty purple quilt finish. Thanks for sharing Annie's technique, too. She's got some talent that girl does. *karendianne.

Elaine M said...

Very happy fun quilt. I'm going to try putting on the binding, then trimming, thanks for the info.

Thelma said...

The first finish for the year, doesn't it feel just wonderful, the first of many I'm sure. Congratulations!

Mary said...

That quilt is very bright. Glad the new to you trick worked. I've done it both ways. The trimming before sometimes makes the edge of the quilt not fill in the binding as trimming it to 1/4" after stitching the binding on.

Darlene said...

A fabulous, fabulous finish - wonderful colors.

Janet O. said...

Beautiful, happy donation quilt. Should make someone very comfy and cheery. Thanks for the info on the binding technique. I've seen it, but never knew the reasoning behind it. I'll have to remember to try it.

soscrappy said...

Oh, that is a happy quilt. Just love the purple! I've thought about trying the binding that way, but never given it a go. Isn't blog land great for new ideas?

Cathy Tomm said...

Done!! Good to get one one done. A nice bright one too. My kind of colours. I am inches away for finishing one this month. I am hand stitching the binding.

Diane said...

way to go!!! It sure is a bright and happy quilt! luv it.

Amy said...

Congrats on your first finish! It is good to try new techniques. I think that is one of the best things about the blogs. The sharing of the processes.

AnnieO said...

Very colorful and fun! Wavy lines are my simple go to as well for a faster finish and they always look great. Glad you found you got nice flat edges when you tried my usual technique--and yes, learning new tricks in blogland is wonderful!

Terry said...

What a beautiful quilt! It's so bright and cheerful! :0)

Vivian said...

Such a bright, uplifting quilt to finish. Well done, Kathy.

I like Annie's method of attaching the binding. Our quilting blogland just bombards us with useful hints and inspiration.

Kate said...

Congrats on the finish! Very pretty. A nice bright quilt for snuggle on a cold winter day. Beautiful job!

Sarah said...

I love it - actually I love all things batik! and the colours are fab!

Mary Johnson said...

I've done the binding that way before but it's easier for me to square up the quilt first. This is a bright happy quilt and the recipient will love it!

Floss said...

The quilt is very bright and cheery, I think the backing fabric is great.