A Quilt for a Friend

It is finished!

The front

Random blocks on the 'back'

This quilt started life as a sheet set. Add in a few prints here & there, quilt & bind... presto- a new quilt, perfect for snuggles on the couch.

This one is:

1. the largest quilt I have ever made @ 47 x 72 inches
2. the first recipient of free motion quilting. (the best way to describe this method is to say that the needle is like a pen & the quilt is the paper. I move the quilt & the needle draws on the pattern.) It took a little bit of time to get into a rhythm, but I eventually got there. I LOVE the effect!
3. my first time following an actual pattern. I used Stitched in Color's brick pattern found here. (if only for a small section)

 Most people start their free motion quilting with a 'simple' stipple pattern, which is a meandering line that looks sort of like coral to me. I am not sure why I jumped in with both feet and did a leaf pattern! I guess it just suited the prints better & I didn't think (worry!) about it before starting. I hope I can keep up this fearlessness! I am very grateful to my good friend who was trusting enough to let me do whatever I wanted (fabric choices were hers). I think that having a recipient that I know is not overly critical & the fact that there wasn't a fortune in fabric involved, I was able to be a little more 'free' than I normally am. Funny that the brick pattern on [what I think of as] the front was my first time following directions for piecing... but the quilting itself was very relaxed.

Here you can see the quilting a little better :)

While taking my photos, I discovered that this size works just fine as a quilt for a single bed. There is not a lot of overhang, but it still looks nice to me :)

Now...generally, I keep my kitties away from my quilts. Cat fur loves fabric! Since I knew my friend wouldn't mind, I allowed Mira to come explore...

Testing the waters...

She quickly got comfortable!

Possibly *too* comfortable?