Pinwheel Quilt A Long for Sarah

Yesterday I finished the binding on my pinwheel quilt along from P.S. I Quilt’s quilt a long.  I wasn’t a big fan of the setting option Rachel offered so I zipped it up a bit and put it on the diagonal.  Here it is…

I used a layer cake of Astor Manor fabric for the blocks along with a Moda Marble for the background.  The setting fabric and narrow inner border is from a different fabric line…it’s what the quilt shop had that worked.

This quilt will be a wedding gift for a gal I taught in confirmation and whose mom and I are friends.

I made a few extra blocks and didn’t put in the “simple” pinwheel block that Rachel suggested we make.  The free motion quilting is just a big loopy flower with leaves.  I love the way it turned out.

For an experiment I tried Wal-Mart’s cotton batting and I have to say that it machine quilted beautifully and I like the finished look of it.  It didn’t stretch apart like the Mountain Mist brand does.  It is much cheaper than Warm and Natural.   Our Wal-mart only carries it in a full size which won’t work for many of my projects but it’s an option that I will try again. I want to try it in something I plan to keep so I can see how it stands up to several washings.

I struggled with this quilt as it always looked just a bit plain to me….now after it is all finished, I actually really like it.  Machine quilting with the light brown thread really did the trick to liven it up.  Many people are afraid to use thread in a color that will be seen.  I can tell you, using brighter thread has become the norm for me.  You can check out these two quilts, Roundabout and Black Snowballs, to see what I mean.  I think most people use a thread color that blends so their mistakes can’t be seen.  I understand that totally…but let me assure you, if you use a bolder thread color, you will be amazed with the results.

And that, my dear readers, is the story of my pinwheel quilt a long quilt.