Today's feature is a gorgeous quilt from Catherine of My Life in Binding. You must read her About Me...it made me giggle!! Catherine is a busy PhD student, I wonder where she finds the time to make such beautiful quilts!! After reading about her great quilt and feature stop by and say hi, she's new to blogging and quilting so let's make some new friends!!
When my best friend told me her wedding colors were going to be yellow and gray, I had my doubts (and fears—I was petrified I’d have to wear a yellow bridesmaid dress—not a good look for me) about the color scheme. Nevertheless, that’s what M—who is an interior designer by trade, with impeccable and modern taste—wanted. I had only been quilting for a couple of months when I decided I should make her a wedding quilt, so I didn’t have much of a stash to speak of. I spent several months checking out local fabric shops wherever I went, purchasing yellow and gray fabric that looked “M” to me.*
Choosing the pattern was much easier. Before I started quilting for real, I read Diary of a Quilter (like, the entire thing—it was a little crazy, admittedly) and at some point ran across Amy’s “Chain Linked” pattern. You know how you just know when you find something that is perfect for someone? This was perfect for M, so once that was decided, I just had to procure enough interesting scraps in the color scheme for the middle of the blocks.
M’s wedding was at the end of July, and I didn’t get the quilt done by then (ooooooh boy, not even close!) I did manage to make her a large pillow out of scraps from her quilt that I presented to her at her shower (she didn’t know she was getting a quilt, but I think she had her suspicions!)
So I plugged steadily along with the quilt through the fall. I live halfway across the country from M and really wanted to present it in person, which meant that Christmas break was my new deadline. This was the largest quilt I had made, and that presented unique challenges in basting space and quilting. I ended up basting the quilt in the basement of the building where I work. I wasn’t confident enough to try FMQ, so I chose to trace the white areas of the quilt, which meant a TON of turning! I think it was a pretty good choice for the quilting though. I originally intended to trace inside the gray too, but time and laziness prevented that.
The backing was part of an IKEA duvet cover, with the addition of a row of blocks to make it long enough. The binding was a happy accident—the yellow I was originally saving for the binding just didn’t look right at the end, and I headed to my LQS to try to find something else. I found nothing. Dejected, I was about to settle for a dark gray solid when I spotted some light and dark gray striped fabric. Perfection!
M and her new husband loved the quilt (even if it was five months late) and I am extremely proud of it! There’s nothing quite like making something that you just know is perfect for its recipient, and it is my favorite quilt I’ve made so far!
Pattern: Chain Linked by Amy Smart
Finished size: 61” x 82”
Fabric: Kona Charcoal and Kona White, with assorted others
*Don’t worry, I got to wear a dark gray dress instead. Phew."
