Bargello Island Baby Quilt

I machine pieced this quilt on my Bernina 240.
I quilted this quilt on my Janome QMP-18 long arm.

Finished size: 45" x 56"

(click on photos to enlarge)
✫FINISHED QUILT: 


Front piecing: My first ever bargello quilt, referring to Missouri Star Quilt Company's Bargello tutorial. I went a bit scrappy and used several different bright colors. Some of the fabrics were taken from my stash, and a few of the specific fabrics I used are listed below:


BackingThe backing is a little less than 2 yards of BasicGrey's Grunge for Moda's "Clear Water", which I bisected on the diagonal to accommodate the width of the quilt front.

Quilt Stitching: The quilting pattern is an edge-to-edge called "Mums the Word". It was created to stitch out as flower (chrysanthemum) petals, but I chose it because it also looks like both bird feathers and wide leaves to me, and I wanted the quilting to be a continuation of the island theme.

The front of the quilt is stitched in a lovely blue thread called "Delphynium" (So Fine 50 #478).

The back of this quilt is stitched in aqua thread named "Glacier" (So Fine 50 #471).

The label is the recipient's name and date embroidered onto a folded piece of fabric, which is then tucked into a corner with the binding.

INSPIRATION:
My theme/color inspiration for this quilt came from two things:
1) the new baby girl named Isla (who is named after the Isle of Islay in Scotland...the Scottish pronounce it “Eye-la”) for which this quilt has been made
Isle of Islay
and
2) this gorgeous rainbow rose bouquet that was gifted to her parents celebrating Isla's birth.
So to honor her name, I incorporated rainbow-y island colors on the quilt front, bright and vivid and feminine, and made sure to back the quilt in a lovely blue fabric called "Clear Water".

Baby Isla and her quilt

PROGRESS PHOTOS:
Construction-front:
I referred to Missouri Star Quilt Company's Bargello tutorial to create this baby quilt. It was my first time attempting this piecing technique, and I was pleasantly surprised with the end results! Of course, I had to stray a bit from the exact directions, because that's just who I am. But overall Jenny Doan's instruction was superb (as usual) and I strongly recommend her tutorial to anyone else attempting a bargello for their first time.

Selecting the fabrics and colors and arranging them in a way I found pleasing for the quilt front.

First the "tubes" are created and the strips are sliced.

Then the strips are joined together in a particular order. The process itself requires paying a lot of attention, but happily it is all straight seams. 

Consistency and an accurate seam allowance is the key here. Lots and lots of pinning to make sure seams match up!

All 34 vertical strips (24 rows) joined!
The finished quilt top (flimsy) is laid out and measured in preparation for making the quilt back.

Construction-back:
My backing fabric was just a few inches too narrow, so I created a diagonal back from one single piece of yardage and was able to make a perfectly sized backing from the "Clear Water" fabric piece.


Quilting:
I loaded the quilt horizontally on my long arm, so I would only have 5 rows of stitching to do, instead of 7 or 8. I used double thickness cotton batting for extra cushiness.

Quilting the edge-to-edge "Mums the Word" pattern. 

Yay - last row!


Fresh off the long arm, and already loving the quilting stitches!

Trimming:
Squaring up the quilt after taking it off the long arm, getting it ready to add the label and binding.

Label:

Binding:
This quilt's binding is machine sewn, and made from “Bree” in Swirl Green by Nancy Halvorsen for Benartex.
First attaching the binding strip to the back of the quilt...

...then wrapping it around to the quilt front.

 For precise binding seam sewing, I use my Bernina 240's blind hem foot

Washing:
After machine washing twice with dye trapping sheets (I use either Color Catchers or Color Grabbers), a lot of the green and pink fabric dyes are removed, and the quilt is wonderfully scrunchy and soft. 

QUILT SUMMARY:
I machine pieced this quilt on my Bernina 240.
quilted this quilt on my Janome QMP-18 long arm.
Finished size: 46" x 61"
Front piecingMy first ever bargello quilt, referring to Missouri Star Quilt Company's Bargello tutorial, using scrappy bright colors and several different fabrics.
BackBasicGrey's Grunge for Moda's "Clear Water", which was bisected on the diagonal to accommodate the width of the quilt front.
Binding: Label is a piece of folded fabric, embroidered, tucked into a corner with the binding. Binding strips are machine sewn, made from “Bree” in Swirl Green by Nancy Halvorsen for Benartex
QuiltingQuilted in an edge-to-edge pattern called "Mums the Word". Used "Delphynium" (So Fine 50 #478) on the front and "Glacier" (So Fine 50 #471) on the back.


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