Saturday, June 23, 2012

my online friendship quilt

I've met some great friends, all because of this little blog. Friends that I would not have met otherwise. It's incredible to stop and think about it and I'm so thankful! It's because of a few of those friends that this quilt came to be (as I wrote about in this post).
Isn't it gorgeous?!??! I am absolutely smitten with this quilt! It's got such a variety of colors and prints. It's truly scrappy, which I love. I could make a hundred quilts like this!
Thankfully my friends buy dark value fabrics. I would say that most-if not all-of the fabrics I contributed were light or medium values. The darks really pop! I need to start being intentional about adding more dark fabrics to my stash and then using them. They add so much depth, so much interest to a quilt.
For the back I used this LOVELY fabric (Picnic Rose from the Darla line by Tanya Whelan) that I was saving for just the right quilt. I had bought 5 yards of it last summer because I loved it and I got a screamin' deal on it. I knew I would put it to good use at some point. There wasn't quite enough for this quilt, so I patched in a scrappy pink stripe right down the middle. It added just the right length for the backing. An added bonus, I didn't have to worry about lining up the repeat in the fabric. Hurray!
For the binding I used a black and white stripe, a la Rita. Tara and I found this when we were shopping together last February at Mill End. We called it 'Rita binding' immediately and we bought the rest of the bolt, then split it. (It is made by Cranston Village Quilt Works.) I didn't know if I would actually use it on a quilt, although I hoped to when I purchased it. I don't use a lot of black and white fabric in my quilts (or any, usually), so it was a stretch for me. Once I decided I was going to use the black and white stripe for the binding, it prompted me to add some black and white prints into the patchwork mix as well. I'm very pleased with the results!
The striped binding adds so much, even to the back of the quilt. 
I'm happy to say I had great success with my concentric amoeba quilting. It was fun to do, went fairly quickly and it gives the quilt lovely texture and movement. I'm planning to do more of this quilting design...it's definitely a keeper!

The quilt measures 64" x 88", a perfect twin size.

48 comments:

Rachel said...

Totally awesome! I love to look at scrappy, I really lean towards matchy (LOL), so I really appreciate getting to drool over this!!

Deborah said...

This quilt is a beauty! And you couldn't have better friends! I count Cindy has my BFF!

Flo @ Butterfly Quilting said...

Love it! And the binding adds a bit more fun too! How big are the scrappy squares?

Sara the Great said...

Fabulous! Truly

Flo @ Butterfly Quilting said...

Sorry , guess I should have checked your previous post first!! :)

lera said...

Love.

Bonnie said...

What a delightful scrappy quilt - and the striped binding adds just the right touch. Awesome indeed.

Kar said...

Gorgeous fabrics and the quilting is awesome!

Angie said...

It makes my heart sing and laugh :D I am in love with it. :D

doodlebugmom said...

scrappy quilts are my favorite, especially those with sentimental squares. This one is gorgeous!

Andy said...

I love this quilt but what makes it for me is the quilting! I'm going to have to try that. Thanks for the inspiration (once again)!

carol said...

That binding is my very favorite to use too.......and I was using it before I even knew of Rita. lol

Karen said...

Amandajean, this is a GREAT quilt. I love scrappy more all the time! The backing is beautiful and the binding is perfect....I love using strips or dots for bindings.

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs, Karen

Just Me said...

The quilt is really beautiful! It makes me want to dig in my scraps to make my own :-)

Debs @ Plainstitch said...

I never met a scrappy quilt I didnt love! And I never met a patchwork quilt I didnt love! Its sending me off to the scrap bin straight away!

Lauren said...

I really love this quilt. You did a great job! This is the kind of quilts I want in my house.

Live a Colorful Life said...

I LOVE this quilt SOOO much! *sigh* I won't have my quilt completed. However, I plan to sew it together in the presence of you and Terri. I can hardly wait! Can I copy your binding? Hey, maybe we can get Terri to use the black and white stripes too. That would be fun.

Unknown said...

This is totally awsome! I love everything in it. Congratulations on yet another quilt!

Cherie said...

The quilt is gorgeous!! Love the scrappy style. The stripey binding is awesome! =D

Janine said...

off to cut scraps !

pratima said...

Beautiful quilt! Binding with black stripes is so cute! Your quilting compliments the squares perfectly!

Tracy said...

I love the scrappy happy quilt! When I saw the binding I knew just who it was from and it is so perfect using the black and whie stripes! I love how you did the quilting, maybe someday I will give that one a try.

Kim said...

Love love love the quilting! Did you just eyeball the spacing? What a great quilt!

Happy Sewing

driftwoodthimble.com said...

Its wonderful!! Love how colorful it is!

Thank you for always providing me with such inspiration...now where is my sewing machine!

Dee
x

Terriaw said...

You sure whipped this up fast! I wish I had as much time for sewing and quilting. I have my friendship squares all laid out but probably won't have time until our retreat in July.

Yours turned out beautifully! I especially love the quilting you did. Can't wait to see it in person in a few week.

Annie said...

I love it too, always love a bit of stripy binding too!

Karen said...

What a great quilt!! The binding is perfection. Is the concentric circle quilting straight or wonky like in the post with the blue quilt? It's perfect too!

AnnieO said...

Gorgeous! I have to intentionally add LIGHTS to my quilts, opposite of you :) Rita binding indeed! Love the quilting design and agree it adds a great counterpoint to all the straight lines. Enjoy!

Shan said...

It is an awesome quilt. It is great that you have developed such great friendships.

Carla said...

It's great and I love your quilting : )

Heather said...

Very beautiful, the quilting is really great. I think I'm going to have to try that!

karen @ badlandsquilts said...

I love square patchwork quilts! Looks great!

Jennie @ Porch Swing Quilts said...

I have to confess, it was your blog that really got me loving scrappy quilts. This one is a stunner! Well done, and I love the "Rita binding."

Quilt n Queen said...

I luv this quilt...I have a bunch of squares cut out...I think they are only 4 inches but they will work. I've got to get working on my quilts for Margaret's Hope Chest, this might be one of them. Still not sure if I will be able to make it to the 'sewing party' on the 25th but I'm going to make some ragged square blocks.

Have a wonderful Sunday!!

Denice said...

So great! I love the idea of trading fabrics with friends. All my scrappy quilts pretty much look the same......
The black & white strip binding is perfect.

Linda said...

Really pretty! Love the scrappiness of it. :)

Kathryn D. Duke said...

absolutely wonderful quilt...I, too, have more lights and medium fabrics and find it hard to add in hards...maybe I need to find a "darks" friend too!!! thanks for demoing the circular curvy/ziggy quilting method...like it!!

Anne said...

Love it, love it, love it! What a special quilt. the binding is perfection too! You've inspired me... AGAIN!

Thimbleanna said...

Wow CrazyMom -- that's an ADORABLE quilt. I especially LOVE the binding and that last picture. Excellent!

Bee said...

This is absolutely beautiful! This insights me to make one myself. What a great way to use up all of those scrappy pieces. Love the binding too!

Nicole Sanders said...

That is so gorgeous, loving the variety of colours & designs. I'm a scrappy quilter. It always seems to come together. The binding & backing fabric are beautiful!

Suzanne said...

It's beautiful! I think the black and white binding really does lend itself well to the quilt. It's also really neat that it was collaborative in both fabrics and in sentiments. I love how how other people's styles can be incorporated into our quilts and remind us so much of them.

Claire Jain said...

Such a beautiful quilt! I loved Rita's B&W striped binding, too :-D

Beth said...

Love it! It is really so much fun. the black and white binding really frames the back and the front beautifully.

trudys_person said...

I love scraps! And other peoples scraps are a lovely gift! Thank you for the giveaway!

paulamb at shaw dot ca

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Chara Michele said...

Love this & the binding is just perfect for this quilt!

Mama Pea said...

This quilt was one of my faves that you showed. I love that your blocks are from an exchange. That makes it all the more meaningful!