blue

Blue is such a creative name for this quilt, isn't it? It's made from various (42 to be exact) Kona cottons. Simple straightforward piecing, with lots of little fussy quilting.

Actually, how to quilt this one had me stumped for awhile. Some of you suggested variegated thread, but variegated thread scares me. (It's true!) I thought about straight line organic quilting, but with the large graphic blocks, I wanted to add something that would soften it up rather than accentuate the bold lines. They didn't need any additional help. :) My solution? First, I stitched in the ditch to stabilize my seams. I used nylon thread on the top (it blends with nearly all colors) and a silvery grey thread in the bobbin (to match the back). I wanted the stabilizing stitches to blend in with the various colors as much as possible, since I'm not the neatest stitch in the ditch quilter. Then, I changed threads to match each color block when I filled them in with a simple meandering pattern. For that, I used the same thread color in the top and the bobbin. I started stitching in the top left corner of each block and ended at the bottom right of each corner. With all the thread changes, I needed to keep some kind of order. It worked like a charm.

I used lots of thread (12 colors!), but the only one I had to purchase was the royal blue. The rest I had on hand already. That was a little startling.

I used Kona Ash for the backing. Since I changed the thread colors with each block, the back has it's own pattern going on. It's pretty subtle, but the darker ones do pop a bit. I like the dimension it adds to the back. It's also the reason I went with a solid rather than a print fabric for the backing. All in all, I think it was a great quilting solution. I love it when a hair-brained idea like this actually pans out. I was holding my breath until the very end, though. I did NOT want to screw this one up.

I used some sort of Kona grey for the binding (not sure of the exact color), because it would have been too hard to pick a blue. :) I love how it frames it all in.

The quilt measures about 57" x 70".

This quilt is going to be the grand prize giveaway for the retreat that is coming up next month. It's going to be hard to let this one go, but one lucky retreat attender is going to go home with a brand new quilt. Now, THAT'S pretty exciting!