ROYGBIV Improv Crumb Lap Quilt

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

Finished size: 54" x 70"

(click on photos to enlarge)

✫FINISHED QUILT:✫

Front piecing: The center of this quilt top is made using both Mile a Minute Piecing and Improv Piecing techniques. I used *951* pieces of leftover scrap fabric of all sizes and shapes ("crumbs"), joining them together into 36 individual triangles and squares, using foundations of magazine paper to create uniformed 8" sized blocks. Sometimes the process is known as "crumb quilting". I then arranged the completed blocks in an on-pointe design. 

Border #1: The first inner border is 1" wide strips of the lovely "Penpengusa - Tomato Metallic" by Neko and Tori for Cotton & Steel.

Border #2: There is a second crumb border that surrounds the first narrow inner border.

Border #3: Again a narrow 1" border is added, made from "Penpengusa - Tomato Metallic" by Neko and Tori for Cotton & Steel, this time to frame the pieced crumb border.

Outer Border #4: The final 5" wide border, with its mitered corners, is created using the colorful "Lost in Space" line by Alyssa Kays for Blank Quilting.

Back: The backing fabric is 4 yards of a wonderful blue called "Azure", from Robert Kaufman's "Quilter's Linen" line.

Quilt Stitching, Center: The center of the quilt is filled with edge-to-edge "Artist" pantograph by Sweet Dream Quilt Studio. 


Quilt Stitching, Borders: The wide outer borders of the quilt are stitched with the recipient's name, mirrored to be read from either the front or back of the quilt. I created this using Art & Stitch software.

I used a great blue thread called "Delphynium" (So Fine 50 #478) for both the front and back of the central area quilting.

In the outer border areas, I chose "Daffodil" (So Fine 50 #420) thread for the quilt front.

Label: I embroidered the label directly onto the binding. Loving how it looks with this quilt!

✫INSPIRATION:✫

This quilt is a high school graduation gift for my one and only niece, to bring with her as she heads off to college this fall. She is a brilliant gal, an awesome artist, a gifted dancer, and I wanted to make her something to honor how unique, bright and vibrant she is!

✫PROGRESS PHOTOS:✫

Construction-Front:

Using a combination of crumb quilting and foundation piecing of both the Mile a Minute Piecing and Improv Piecing techniques, I built 36 - 8" triangles and squares.

I very carefully selected from thousands of fabric scraps, so that there would be a specific flow to the colors moving across the quilt. This portion of making the quilt was definitely the longest, in planning as well as creating. In my attempt to translate the look I saw in my head onto my design wall, I re-built and rearranged blocks several times.

After the central area of the quilt was created, I added a narrow (1") red border, then a second section of even smaller fabric crumbs to make an additional border, continuing the color flow from the inside area.

I then added another narrow inner red border, and finally placed an outer 5" wide final border. I mitered the border corners to provide a crisp look.

Quilting:

The backing and batting (I use Warm & Natural) loaded with the top floating horizontally on my Janome QMP18 long arm, ready to stitch the center of the quilt with "Artist" pantograph by Sweet Dream Quilt Studio.

Following Linda Matteotti's tutorial, I created a mirrored name design of text in Art & Stitch. After I imported the design into my ProStitcher software, I laid out rows of the name pattern around all of the quilt's outer edges. I made sure some of the quilting was mirror reversed, so that her name was readable from either the front or the back of the quilt.

By first loading the quilt horizontally, I was able to complete the central quilting with fewer long rows instead of more shorter rows of stitching, which saves time by having fewer stops and starts.

Once the center and sides of the quilt were stitched, I removed the quilt from the long arm, rotated it and reattached it vertically, to quilt the top and bottom edges. This way I only needed to complete 2 more continuous rows of stitching.

Trimming:

Squaring up the quilt after taking it off the long arm, readying it to add the binding.

Label:

Before attaching the machine sewn binding to the quilt, I embroidered a label onto the binding fabric using my Brother PE700 embroidery machine.

Binding:

To frame the quilt, I again used the lovely "Penpengusa - Tomato Metallic" by Neko and Tori for Cotton & Steel for the binding fabric strips.

First attaching the binding strips to the back of the quilt...

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

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

Washing:

I machine washed this quilt with dye trapping sheets (I use either Color Catchers or Color Grabbers), and it absorbed quite a bit of the fabric dyes. After washing, the quilt is wrinkly, soft and lovable, ready to be used.

✫QUILT SUMMARY:✫

Here's the progression of all the main steps in the creation of this quilt.

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

Finished size: 54" x 70"

Front piecing: A central section built using a combination of crumb quilting and foundation piecing of both the Mile a Minute Piecing and Improv Piecing techniques, surrounded by 4 different borders.

Back: A wonderful blue called "Azure", from Robert Kaufman's "Quilter's Linen" line.

Binding: The binding is machine sewn, using "Penpengusa - Tomato Metallic" by Neko and Tori for Cotton & Steel .

Quilting: Edge-to-edge repeat of "Artist" pantograph pattern fills the center of the quilt, and personalized name lettering is stitched all around the outer borders. Front and back stitched with Superior Threads' "Delphynium" (So Fine 50 #478), and front outer borders stitched with "Daffodil" (So Fine 50 #420).

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