Friday, December 25, 2009

Quilt Project #4 - Snail's Trail Quilt

I just completed my first proper quilt.



It's a snail's trail quilt that I made for my mom-in-law for Christmas.



This detail shows the scrappiness of the teal spirals. It also reveals some of the slop; there is some puckering and some of the points don't line up, but these little flaws are hardly noticeable in the big picture. I'm definitely satisfied with the way it turned out.

What I learned:

No number of potholders could have prepared me for some of the unique challenges that come with the size and scale of full sized quilt. There are major logistics issues with cramming something this big in my sewing machine (and this isn't a big quilt - 63x72 inches).

A step that seems insignificant with a small project becomes significant when multiplied 50 times - it took me days just to cut all the pieces.

I grabbed the first package of batting I ran across that was the right size. But it turned out to be a low loft for the project. It's fine, but I think a higher loft would look better and be more cozy (even if it would be more difficult to stuff under the sewing machine.

I *finally* got the binding right. The trick was to blind stitch the back side by hand. I also finally figured out how to do the mitered corners correctly. The binding on this quilt still had some sloppy parts, but I know how to prevent them next time.

2 comments:

skrizman said...

It's beautiful, Andy. I love the pattern and the colors you chose to do it in. There is always the downside of creating something -- seeing the flaws so clearly. I am trying NOT to obsess about the mistakes in my new wood floors ;-)

Matt Conroy said...

Wow, Andrew, that looks really good. Nice work.

It was great seeing you guys today.

happy new year,

Matt