The Birds of Colorwash Patch Quilt Is Finished (Plus Bonus Highlights)

Yesterday, I finished putting the binding on The Birds of Colorwash Patch quilt.  I put this quilt together in July of 2021.  It's been waiting patiently (or otherwise) while I worked on customer quilts and scanned all my old photos taken before the age of digital cameras -- 36,778 photos.  I finished that project shortly before Christmas.

The quilt measures 112" x 120".  There are two layers of batting -- Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 cotton/poly on the bottom, and Soft & Bright 100% cotton on top.  I wanted Quilters' Dream wool on top, but neither of our LQSs had any the day I decided to start quilting.  I will not do that again; this batting combination made the quilt too heavy and stiff to suit me.

There are 8 different colors of thread on the top.  Most are 40-wt. Omni.  The thread in the bobbin was a light tan color called Statue, and was 60-wt. Bottom Line.  Both threads are made by Superior.

I used a variety of rulers from two sets by Handi Quilter, swags and half-circles, along with free-motion quilting.  My machine is an 18" Handi Quilter Avanté on a 12' Studio frame.  It is hand-guided, not computer driven.

Upon finishing the quilt, I machine-embroidered a label for it.

This afternoon, we had dinner at Kurt and Victoria's house.  We took along the quilt, and Victoria spread it on her bed.  The dark teal-navy perfectly matches her curtains.  Violet, 4, likes it -- and so does the kitty, Luna.  (What cat doesn't like a quilt? 😄)

"You can't keep it!" I told Victoria.  "Yet."  

(She already knew that, so I didn't leave her shedding copious rivers of tears when I took the quilt home again with me.)

I plan to enter it in our County and State Fairs this summer.

Here's a list of hours spent on the various parts of the making of the quilt:

Designing:                                                                        4

Cutting:                                                                           13.5

Piecing:                                                                           36

Borders:                                                                          10

Appliqués:                                                                      32

Piecing back, loading quilt on frame:                    5

Quilting:                                                                       167

Binding:                                                                         10

Label:                                                                               2.5

Grand Total:                                                               280

Here are today's pictures -- plus a collection of highlights taking during quilting in January and February.  

Quilting Highlights:

July 2021