The Yellow Quilt

Finished!

I am finally done with the quilt and will deliver it to the client tonight! Please bear with the pictures, the quilt is so large that it is difficult to photograph it properly. The finished size is 107"x107" (approx. 272cmx272cm), which is what we call in the US, "king size". I finally draped it over the railing in my stairwell, and there is still a row of rings that isn't shown.

Notice how small my son looks:

You can see the curved edge of the quilt and some of the quilting in this photo:

Here's a close up of the binding, from the front, which I don't think I showed you yesterday:

I've had several comments and questions concerning the binding, so I'll address those today.

First, MaryPat R wanted to know, "Do you stitch up the mitre point as well or only along the edge?" Yes, I do stitch up the miter point. I feel that it helps the miter keep its shape after washing and actually using the quilt.

Second, Vicki wanted to know, "Do you wash your cotton batting before starting?" Personally, I don't wash battings before starting projects. The cotton battings will shrink with washing, but this lends a vintage, used look to the quilts that many people like. My last two or three art garments actually have silk batting in them and since they will need to be hand washed in cold water or dry cleaned, I don't worry too much about shrinkage.

Third, Mamafitz wanted to know, "Why did you chose to do a single fold binding instead of a double one?" Actually, that is a double fold binding. I realize that from yesterday's post it doesn't look like one, and that's because I did not do all the folds that a double fold binding has before stitching it to the quilt. I only did the fold in the center. My stitching line, when the binding is attached from the front is actually one of the fold lines and will be pressed anyway during the process of folding the binding to the back - no need to press all that binding twice (we're talking over 12 yards or over 10 meters of binding!). The other fold for a double fold binding is done when the raw edge is folded under on the back of the quilt to meet the stitching line. I wait to do this step so that I can get the fold just a hair's width beyond the stitching line to cover it up perfectly and again, it saves me having to press all that binding twice. When the fell stitching is done, you'll never see the machine stitching.

Last, from Marji, "You fell stitched that entire binding down? And this is for a client?" Yes, I did. My name is on that quilt, and who knows who will see it - I want to make sure it's as good as what I would make for myself. Furthermore, this client is a family friend. I rarely make quilts on commission anymore - this is the first one in about five years, and I only did it because of who the person is.

I've also had a comment from Paco about how quick I've managed all the stitching. Do realize that this is the only project I've worked on this week, and that I've worked on it 3 to 4 hours every night after coming home from work. This is actually one project that was too much to take on the bus! I do develop a rhythm of stitching after a while and that helps speed things up. Today was the first day I was able to work on any real sewing (my husband's plaid shirt) other than the button below and another small beaded project, both of which I worked on during my bus rides.

Parting Shot: Button. This is the button I made this week. I think I have fabric for one more purple one, and then I'll work in a different color. I'm not sure which color, I'll see what interests me when I look at the bead and sequin collection.