Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Tangier Ikat Quilt

The last item in my FO parade is a quilt.  I pieced the top of this quilt last spring, and it's been sitting around since then waiting to be sandwiched and quilted together.


The fabrics are 10 different prints in oranges, hot pinks and dark corals, with accents in green, aqua and white.  I bought these as a fat quarter bundle which included one cut of each print in the series.  It's been over a year since I bought the fabric, so of course it's no longer available as a FQ bundle, but some of the prints are still around.

I wanted this top to look very busy and kind of souk-esque.  I think I succeeded!


I find fat quarters to be a difficult size to work with.  I much prefer to cut quilt pieces from yardage.  It took me a long time to figure out how to use all of the fabrics, in the way I wanted to use them.  Some of the prints are quite large, as you can see, and I didn't want to break those up too much.

Finally I decided to cut each piece into squares and rectangles of 9" x 9", 9" x 6" and 9" x 3".  The 6" and 3" rectangles got sewn together to make 9" squares, and then all the squares were sewn together with the rectangles being oriented in different directions.  The main purpose of this quilt is to give me some beautiful, cheerful fabrics to look at throughout the dreary days of winter.

I had every intention of free-motion quilting this with random squiggles, but I gave up after about 3" of that!  This quilt is heavy!  And rather large, so I didn't think my arms could hang in there long enough to get it all done.  So I switched back to my walking foot and just did straight-line quilting spaced about 4" apart.

The batting was also pieced together from scraps of previous quilts, using my edge-joining foot and a wide zigzag stitch.  I was glad to get those used up - they take up a lot of room!

The binding is a very pale blue and white stripe, which I think ties in nicely with the aqua and green in the main fabrics.  And the backing is plain muslin.


I was anxious to start using this quilt, so I sandwiched, quilted and bound it all in one day last week!  And it's been used every night since :-)




22 comments:

  1. Wow, what a beautiful quilt - love those blazing pinks and oranges.

    Thanks for the fo review. It's been an Advent calendar of knitting and sewing!

    Merry Christmas,
    stashdragon

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  2. I love quilts. This one is so bright and cheery. Perfect for winter days. Great job!

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    1. Thank you! Me too! It seems that every time I finish one, I immediately start thinking about the next one! I've already pulled fabrics from the stash to start another!

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  3. Perfect for snuggling under during a lazy holiday season.

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    1. I've become quite attached to this thing! It goes to bed with me every night!

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  4. This is beautiful! I love the colours and it would certainly cheer me up on a dark winters morning! I've never made a quilt but have plans for s baby quilt for a friend in the new year. Merry Christmas!

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    1. Thank you! Be careful - I think quilting can be addictive!

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  5. Awesome outcome. So fresh in aesthetic for the coming spring.

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    1. Thanks, Stef! Yes, I think this is a year-round quilt: cheers me up in the winter, but fits in in the summer too!

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  6. Just gorgeous. Like a fizzy burst of sunshine. Love it. You almost (almost) make me want to quilt.... ;)

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    1. Awww, come on! You know you want to! Having a special blankie will make you feel good!!

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  7. What a gorgeous quilt. The colours are beautiful.

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    1. Thanks, Sam! I was really thinking about you when I was trying to do the free motion quilting! It made me even more impressed with the pictures you make!

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  8. This is stunning. Such great colours to spend the winter with, and they'll fit right in during the summer too. You are making me itch to start quilting.

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    1. Thanks, Angela! One of the things I love about quilting is that I get to use loud, colorful prints that I adore but would never consider wearing in a garment :-)

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  9. Whoa, these colors! So good! I'm really enjoying your parade of posts! So much fun!

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  10. Love it Gail! It's gorgeous! I've used some of the fabrics that you gave me for the 1930s style Irish chain I've been making off and on for the past year. Love them!

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    1. Thank you! Wow - Irish chain! Much more complicated than anything I do!

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