Chevron Colorful Couch Quilt
This quilt was expertly pieced by the niece of a good friend. Then I added wide borders using my Bernina 240.
I quilted this quilt on my Janome QMP-18 long arm.
Finished size: 60" x 70"
(click on photos to enlarge)
🎠FINISHED QUILT:🎠
Front piecing: The niece of a close friend pieced this chevron center, using colorful, clean colors paired with various neutrals. She created a chevron pattern using diamond-shaped fabric pieces (instead of using half-square triangles) which can be a much more arduous venture, yet she did great! She finished the center by surrounding it with a narrow 1" border. She eventually gave the flimsy to her aunt (my friend), who gifted it to me to border and quilt.
Borders: I added two wide borders (5½" and 5") to enlarge the quilt, bringing it up to a cuddly couch size.
Backing: The beautiful back is yardage I recently purchased at a discounted cost from an Etsy store that was downsizing.
Quilt Stitching, Pattern: I quilted using edge-to-edge "Modern Pineapple" from Wasatch Quilting.
Quilt Stitching, Thread: I used "Delphinium" (So Fine 50 #478) thread for the front, and Out of the Blue (So Fine 50 #433) on the back of the quilt.
Label: I embroidered my first initials & last name, and the year right onto the binding, one of my favorite ways to label a quilt.
🎠INSPIRATION:🎠
This quilt is a gift for a woman who has been displaced due to severe flooding from Hurricane Ian. After being in the same house for more than 30 years, suddenly she and her mother no longer have their home, and are living in hotels and temporary housing. My hopes are when she uses this quilt, she will know that she and her mom are being thought of and that hopes for peace and calm have been sent out into the universe for her.
🎠PROGRESS PHOTOS:🎠
Construction-Blocks:
Here is the flimsy that was gifted to me. Really great choices were made for the chevron pattern placement in both the bold and lighter colors. It was 48" x 60" before I added the two borders.
Construction-Borders:
I added two wide borders to bring the quilt up to a cuddly couch size.
For the inner 5½" border, I used some yellow/gold batik yardage that I bought from a crafter who was reducing her stash.
Once the first yellow/gold border was added, I struggled to find a color for the next border. I auditioned quite a few options from my stash, but nothing was exactly right.
Eventually I discovered I needed a bold blue to really compliment the chevrons. I chose a blue tonal fabric I also purchased from the Etsy store that was downsizing.
Adding the outer 5" border.
Quilting:
The backing and batting are loaded, and the top is floated to be sure everything is squared and ready. I loaded this quilt lengthwise so that there would be fewer rows to stitch.
(I baste each quilt sandwich completely, down one side, across the belly bar, and back up the other side, advancing and repeating, before I actually quilt it).
I quilted using edge-to-edge "Modern Pineapple" from Wasatch Quilting. Perfect design for this quilt, stitched out problem-free, and was easily modified (resize, join, repeat, wrap, etc) in my ProStitcher software.
Beginning the first of 8 rows.
Very happy with the "Delphinium" (So Fine 50 #478) thread color - it compliments the colorful piecing without overpowering it.
This is the 93rd quilt that I've stitched on my longarm, and I've learned many tricks along the way. In the center of this quilt, there was a bit too much fullness in some of the blocks that could have led to fabric folding under the stitches. So I used the "soup can" or "water bottle" trick to gently ease the quilting across the fabric before and after the location of the fullness. Worked perfectly!
Last of 8 rows being stitched out.
As I began unrolling it to remove it from my long arm, I was able to confirm this was a great stitch pattern for this quilt!
Trimming:
I lined up my ruler to cut exactly 5 ⅛" from the outer side of the yellow/gold inner border. That way the quilt's outer edge will be straight, and the two borders will be parallel.
Binding:
To echo the dark floral inner frame, I decided to use more of the same fabric strips that I used when binding the Watercolor Curved Log Cabin Quilt. I joined together enough 2.5" wide strips to make about 300" of binding.
Then I embroidered my first initials & last name, and the year, onto the prepared binding fabric.
First attaching the binding to the back of the quilt...
...then wrapping it around and sewing it to the quilt front.
When I machine attach bindings, I use my Bernina 240's blind hem foot, which creates a wonderfully precise, close-to-the-edge seam.
Washing:
I machine washed the finished quilt twice (cold water, no bleach) using dye trapping sheets (I like either Color Catchers or Color Grabbers). The catchers turned a light green, so I know they removed some of the blue as well as the yellow fabric dyes.
🎠QUILT SUMMARY:🎠
This quilt was expertly pieced by the niece of a good friend. Then I added two wide borders using my Bernina 240.
I quilted this quilt on my Janome QMP-18 long arm.
Finished size: 60' x 70"
Front piecing: Chevron pieces made from colorful fabrics in both light and dark colors.
Borders: 3 borders: 1" inner border, followed by a 5½" middle border and a final 5" outer border.
Back: Blue cotton yardage with white swirls.
Binding: Machine attached scrappy blue floral binding.
Quilting: Edge-to-edge "Modern Pineapple" from Wasatch Quilting. "Delphinium" (So Fine 50 #478) thread for the front, and Out of the Blue (So Fine 50 #433) for the back.
🎠🎠🎠
* The making and gifting of this quilt is the result of several separate instances in life that all fell together, as follows:
Center Blocks: Pieced by the niece of a close friend, then given to me.
Inner Wide Border: Made from yardage I bought from a crafter who was reducing her stash.
Outer Wide Border & Backing: Made from yardage I recently purchased at a discounted cost from an Etsy store that was downsizing.
Gifting: A friend shared with me that she knew of a woman who worked with several people who were homeless from Hurricane Ian's flooding, and she put me in touch with the right person to get quilts to three of those people.
🎠🎠🎠
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