So let me just tell you the story of my Intertwined quilt…
Remember just over a year ago, when I got the hare-brained idea to make a quilt in something like 5 days so I could enter it in QuiltCon? Obviously that didn’t happen because making a quilt in 5 days is insane (for me anyway). I got as far as basting and a few quilting stitches, but then it got folded up and put on my shelf…where it sat for 11+ months.
During that time, I made a mini version in rainbow colors, wrote up the pattern for both sizes, worked with some awesome pattern testers, and published the pattern . And despite all that, my own version of the throw size quilt sat woefully unfinished!
(The design itself was something I sketched up during Rachel Hauser’s 30 Days of Quilt Design Instagram challenge, and was inspired by the book cover by designer Jessica Hische for “The Circle” by Dave Eggers.)
But I’m happy to finally be able to report that last month I pulled this quilt out of hiding to finish it at last. I took out the small amount of quilting that I’d done last year in order to start fresh, and tackled it over several nights. I chose to echo the shape inside each of the “links”, and then quilt a diamond design on the background. I used matching thread for each fabric and am happy with the result.
That said, as I was quilting, I realized there were a couple things I could have done to make the quilting process go a little faster! This design had a ton of stops and starts so the number of threads I ended up burying is totally ridiculous — I didn’t count, but it had to have been over 100. I definitely could have used “travelling” quilting lines more than I did, but still. It was crazy.
Related to that, it occurred to me only about halfway through the process that I really should have considered using monofilament thread! I haven’t used it a ton but it certainly would have reduced the number of stops and starts I had to make with the colored threads.
(I should also mention that this design also looks really cool with spiral quilting like I did in my mini.)
I submitted this for QuiltCon last week — only a year later than originally planned, ha — and look forward to seeing whether it gets into the show! Either way, I’m happy to have another of my own designs finished in real life!
p.s. I’m doing a 31 day blog writing challenge!
Congratulations on getting it finished and submitted this year! I really like the background quilting, it adds an extra layer of depth to the design setting it as a diamond. I have yet to try monofilament myself, and I think it could be a great way to reduce starts and stops for sure.
My first experience with monofilament was so-so. I used Gutermann brand on a mini quilt and found it a bit stiff — too much like fishing line. But I have since tried Aurifil just briefly on a practice piece, and liked the feel of it better. I’d want to experiment a bit more before using it on a large quilt, I think!
I really like the quilting.