Sunday, September 25, 2011

Kaffe quilt

Quilt top finish in 1 day - easy peasy lemon squeezy! This would have taken even less time if the stupid bottom tension screw hadn't worked its way out of the bobbin case and fallen into the body of the machine. Turns out my new machine is a lot harder to take apart than those vintage babies. Finally shook it out onto the cutting mat. I can't believe I didn't lose it; it's about the size Horton's Whos.

On Friday night, I went to the open sewing lounge at Stitched, my bestest LQS, and met up with a couple of friends (June, for one) for some sewing (and nachos after - mmmmm, cheese). I made yet another wristlet, just for me. I also fell in love with a half yard bundle of this, and immediately thought of the Kaffe Fassett Bar Codes quilt. I don't think this is an exact repro, but who cares? This fabric is gorgeous, and the colors seemed perfect for the fall. I plan to back & bind with Kaffe Fassett shot cotton, and do simple straight line quilting.  Maybe variegated thread for a change? Definitely heading back to Stitched tomorrow on my lunch break.

I was nervous about sewing these long strips together without buckling or bending. I cut selvage to selvage, and sewed 2 strips together to get the length I wanted.  When sewing these long strips together, I sewed pairs, then joined pairs, then joined the fours. I also started in the middle each time, sewing from the middle to each end. I think this really helped keep everything from stretching, too. Does anyone else use this technique? Is it so standard I'm silly for even mentioning this?
Update: That is my friend Susan holding the quilt.  Thanks, Susan!
Disclaimer: No spiders were harmed during the photographing of this quilt top.