Well, summer "vacation" is in full swing and the adjustment has been interesting. I'm sure we will find our rhythm eventually. To cope, I decided to start a new quilt for my king sized bed. Sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? I started this project on Saturday and I've been slowly picking away at it as time and energy allows.
I'm only using 3 colors: white, pearl pink and pink flamingo. All of the fabrics are Kona cotton. Pink flamingo, as you may know, is the Kona color of the year. It's quite pretty! I was thinking about making a gingham quilt with pink flamingo for a few months. When I found 5 yards of the pearl pink in my stash, which matches quite nicely, I took it as a sign that the gingham quilt
needed to be made. Hahaha!
It's rare that I cut out a quilt completely before I start sewing, but that's exactly what I did this time. It's good to change things up!
It took me over an hour to sew all those strips into pairs. It was a lot of fun to feed so much fabric through the machine at such a rapid pace.
Chopping everything into segments took quite a while!
The rows are LONG when you are making a king size quilt! Holy moly!
It was quite exciting to see the first several rows sewn together. It's going to be such a fun quilt! Now that I look at it, I probably should have picked a darker shade than the pearl pink, but I still think it's going to be fine. And hey, I'm using my stash, so that counts for something, right?
I cut the strips for this quilt 4 1/2", so the squares will finish at 4". If my math is correct, the quilt will be 108" x 100" finished. (That's a BIG quilt!)
I actually made another
gingham quilt in gray and white... way back in 2011! It's fun to be revisiting this pattern again. It's been much less frustrating this time around, mainly because I learned that a short stitch length is
essential when strip piecing. It sure makes a difference!
I hope to have a finished quilt top to share with you soon!
It sounds like you have done a lot of the "hard" work to get this quilt top to come together, and I look forward to seeing it grow for you. I think the Pearl Pink is actually a really lovely shade and you definitely get bonus points for using your stash. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the pearl pink and hope it works out for you, the sample looks great to me. You got quite a bit done already and a King size quilt is large, I've made one already.
ReplyDeleteit is fun making the big quilts I do them all the time - the 108 x 100 is what I call a queen size though as that fits a queen been with a deep mattress and is high off the floor - I like a good overhang on my quilts
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you posted about this! I was actually thinking about making a gingham quilt for a wedding gift (picnic basket) and was trying to think about how to go about it.
ReplyDeleteit's just lovely. Your seams are gorgeous !
ReplyDeleteI swear everything you make is magical and then it becomes my next "I want to make that" project.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you know that gingham is trending in fashion too?
I think it is perfect! Such a pretty combination. And I find the flamingo has a lot of orange in it so the peach fabric is bang on.
ReplyDeleteCan you elaborate on why you prefer short stitch length for strip piecing? How short is short?
ReplyDeleteThis is looking so pretty - can't wait to see more! Shorter stitch length? I always stay on the basic - what size do you stitch them at?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt. Do you have a pattern for it. I would love to know how much to cut up and your steps involved. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE gingham! This is an awesome quilt - I might have to make one too. (But it's about 10th in line right now.)
ReplyDeleteI made a lap size gingham quilt a few years ago and I loved the process. I think I will probably make another one some day, but I have lots of other projects on the table right now.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of actually making a gingham quilt, though I love gingham. My mom sewed matching dresses for my sister and me in blue/white gingham, I had a blk/white gingham gathered skirt when I was in jr high (in the olden days),that my grandfather embroidered a cross stitch pattern on. And I had brown/white gingham for a shower curtain in my first "new" house. That too was in the olden days. Guess everything old is new again, because gingham is popular again. Thanks Amy Smart and Gingham Girls fabric.
ReplyDeleteYou are moving right along! This is going to be a great quilt, and I think the pink is just perfect.
ReplyDeleteLove gingham. This is going to be amazing!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be a fun quilt; I think the pearl is working out just fine. I'd like to know about the shorter stitch length as well!
ReplyDeleteI also am curious about the short stitch. Please tell us more.
ReplyDeleteCute quilt. I too am curious about the short stitch length and I have another question. When sewing the original long pieces together, how do you keep them from stretching? Do you mark every so many inches and pin? Just curious. I recently sewed a jellyroll bundle together and it got a little wonky. Never had that issue in the past. Thanks for any helpful tips!
ReplyDeleteSew awesome! I have long thought gingham quilts were way cool, but no one inmy house has ever seemed to agree with me, so it has never made it's way onto my to make list....it may have to happen anyway!!! This is sooo pretty in pinks!!
ReplyDeleteI also want to know about the length of your stitches.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors in this quilt, they are so soothing and refreshing! It's a great summer sew!
ReplyDeleteYou know, my Bernina is set so that the default stitch is very small and I rarely ever change that because I find my seams hold much better with the small stitch. The trick is to keep from pulling or tugging on the fabric, but that goes with any kind of sewing, garment to quilting.
ReplyDeleteI love that your individual blocks are large and that the colors look so very luscious together. You need to give it a sweet name when you're done, which will be in no time at all!
I really appreciate the quote marks on "vacation"! I love having them home, but it does require adjustments. Good luck! And great work. Can't wait to see it finished.
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt! I had to laugh though that all of those big pieces are not going to use up "Scraps" as in the title of your latest book! But I suppose this quilt will create some great scraps! Your quilts are lovely whether they are made from little or big pieces and I enjoy seeing every one!
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love it! I made two crib size gingham quilts, for twins, over the winter, and they were so much fun!
ReplyDeleteLooks about right for summer:)
ReplyDeleteLove the gray gingham quilt. My son would love it. Do you have a pattern?
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteOh, I just love, love, LOVE the colors in this quilt. It is beautiful, and I can hardly wait to see it complete. I wonder how you are going to quilt it . . . I will have to go check out your earlier version. This pattern has been on my short list to-make-sooner-than-later, so it's nice to see one in action. ~smile~
Roseanne
Soft, beautiful and lovely. I can't wait to see it finished!
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