The Wedding Quilt: Complete!!!

Well after about 6 months of sore fingers and hands, the wedding quilt is finally finished!! Yay! I did the final wash and dry and went over the quilt to look for any mistakes or things I missed. I won't actually mail it out to Meghan and Don until after the holidays as I want the local family members to take a look at it. They may not get a chance to see it after I send it off to California!

I am really proud of how it turned out. I consider it a bridal quilt, although not one in the traditional sense because it is not white. But this is what the bride wanted and we all know that whatever the bride wants, the bride gets!! This was the first one that I actually designed the entire pattern myself. Normally the wholecloth quilts I have made used a paper template that I traced onto the fabric. This one I used several different designs from books and such, and incorporated it all together into one quilt. I am very please with the results!

A close up view of the border

The center "lovebird" design

A view of the all over quilt

My apologies if the pictures are not that great. I think it had to do with the lighting in the bedroom.

So there it is: only 6 months or so in the making! I loved how it turned out but not really ready to do another one anytime soon!

Now stayed tuned after the holidays for the mother of the bride dress I will be making for myself. No idea yet as to the color or style, but it will be fabulous! I get to wear a hat and gloves, just like the royal family (but without all the crazy family drama!!!)

Happy Holidays all!

The Wedding Quilt: Labels!!

Labels, labels, labels!!!  I have a thing for labels. I think that not only do they provide a nice way to "document" your quilt, but they also provide a type of history of why the quilt was made. Especially for something like a wedding quilt. I added two labels to this wedding quilt.

One label simply provides my name, it is the same type of label that I use on garments. You can have these made from an online service and I probably have these from years ago. Simply hand stitch onto the back of the quilt.

The other label is one that I had made from a vendor I found on Etsy. I wanted something embroidered that documents the wedding. And since I don't do embroidery I enlisted the help of someone else! She did a fabulous job and the entire thing only cost me about $25. Now some have mentioned that this label is rather "large". It is. And I like it that way. I wanted to have this very cute saying on the quilt and although the label is larger than normal, it will document their wedding!

The last part of the quilting process is well, in process!  I go over the quilt for any mistakes and loose threads, then wash and dry the quilt. Why do I wash it? Well, it does several things. It removes all the pencil marks that might have been left on the quilt. It also removes any batting fuzz or potential dog hair (yes that happens!). But probably the main reason I wash/dry it is to shrink it. It gives it an "antique" look that I like. I do preshrink the fabric before I quilt it but the batting will shrink somewhat as well. When that happens it give the quilt a type of "lived in" look that I like. And of course washing and drying it makes it pristine for the presenting of the gift!

Stay tuned for more quilting madness!!!

The Wedding Quilt: Home stretch!!

Ahh the home stretch of the wedding quilt! Yay! I have been working hard to finish up the quilt so that the family coming to the house on Christmas will be able to see the finished product. I wasn't sure who would get to see the quilt once I send it to Meghan in Berkeley, so I want to have it done soon for all to see "live".

So we are basically done with the quilting part and starting on the binding. I like to use a narrow binding and not a really wide one. The wide bindings remind me of the ratty blankets that kids drag around when they are little, with the wide, satin bindings and I don't care for that look. It's just me, if you prefer wide bindings by all means, don't be offended! Now you can make your own bias binding in any color or fabric you like, but I actually prefer to use pre-made binding. It is easy and there are many different colors available today.

My preferred type of binding

I like to use extra wide, double fold binding and then open it up and press it flat. Then I fold it in half and re press it and it is the exact size that I like for my quilt bindings. It is easy to work with and if you need to make it longer then just stitch another package length to the first one. I think that I like this because once I finally get to the end of the quilting process, I want it to be done and over with. So easy is the way to go!!

Now there has been much discussion (at least I think there has been much discussion) about how to round the corners of your quilt so that it looks right. My favorite way to do this: use a dinner plate. Yes, a dinner plate! It is the perfect round-ness and you simply trace the edge of the plate with your pencil and you never miss! You can use a saucer for small baby quilts, a salute plate for twin quilts and a larger dinner plate for the larger quilts. Plate: not just for meals anymore!!

Trace along the plate with your pencil!

Now once that is done, you simply cut along your tracing lines and then stitch the binding to the edges of the quilt. I machine stitch. I find I have more control that way and it holds better. Then I hand stitch the edge of the binding to the back of the quilt. It may take a while but it gives the front of the quilt a nice, clean look and allows you to manipulate around the corners.

Hand stitch the binding to the quilt

After that you are basically done! I have a few more tips and tricks for the final steps which will be on the next post. I like to go over the quilt to check out any "mistakes" and also put on labels and wash the quilt. Stay tuned: more to come!