Friday, June 7, 2013

dolly quilt#1 done

 it's a rather paltry finish, but it's a finish! my first little doll quilt is done. it looks like it could be a placemat, but heaven forbid i ever spend this much time and effort on a placemat. admittedly, this was a quick project; just too much time for something my kids were going to eat on. i completed the binding last night while the baby 1) played in the hose in the backyard, 2) played in the shower after dinner. splish, splash for her; stash time for me.

this was an exercise in experimentation. firstly because i was playing with improv piecing, or piecing as you go; secondly because it was my first fmq adventure. when i made my "out on a limb quilt", i wanted to keep the look mostly primary colored. therefore, i pulled a lot of the pink jelly strips from it. looking back, i think i actually meant to make a baby quilt because i bought a yard of the pink owl floral, another of the green and pink bandanna-looking floral, and half a yard of the yellow dot for binding to mix in with this quilt. but that was two years ago and i didn't process that thought until after the two little quilt tops were done and i thought, "hmm. i wonder why i bought so much of that other green floral?" this is why i need to start documenting my purchases and intentions more clearly.

i didn't have a pattern or particular look in mind, i just started sewing strips together and cutting away. i did rather intend for it to have a more asymmetrical feel. But at the finish, it looks like i cut the two smaller side strips evenly! oh, well.

back
i enjoyed the fabrics so much, that i was wishing i had more of it to make another version of "limb" in this pastel colorway or to make blocks similar to this top for a completely different quilt. greedy of me! it's just grown on me so. good thing i have lots of other pretty fabrics to work with.

the binding is not my favorite choice. not because of the color, rather the print. i have learned i like prints that blend with themselves better. very structured, linear prints, like this dot, end up with a choppy look rather than seamlessly flowing together. you get one portion of the pattern for a bit, then another portion when the strips meet up. maybe if i cut on the bias, this won't be an issue?

i have been feeling a bit silly for making a doll quilt. shouldn't i do a table runner or wall hanging? (not my thing,) that would be more "normal." then i found this little beauty while browsing books at joann, etc the other day:

pretty in patchwork doll quilts by cathy gaubert
it's chock full of fun doll quilt patterns from some pretty big quilting names! i'm validated. and i totally would have contributed my little pretty to it if they'd asked. [insert silly giggle] there were enough patterns i liked in it to justify buying my 723rd sewing/crafting book. whenever i think i've got enough, a new one always pops up.

and it features these darling dolls throughout, which lark offers free bonus patterns for here and here.

a finish means linking in with crazy mom quilts for finish it up friday and quokka quilts for TGIFF. see y'all in quilty blogland.

7 comments:

  1. what a fun blog you have, lots of colors and fun things to look at. cute doll quilt. great finish!

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  2. That's the cutest quilt from start to finish. I love the fabric, piecing and FMQ. Did you Juki it? *eeeek*

    Now I need one of those dolls.

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  4. The doll quilt is adorable!!
    I always think finding the right binding fabric is one of the toughest parts!
    That doll is AMAZING, my daughter would love it (better not let her see!!)

    p.s. please can you turn off your word verification, it is always so difficult! Much easier to turn off anonymous comments to prevent spam :)

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  5. cute doll quilt and fun colors!

    -Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  6. Adorable! Congrats on the FMQ -- way to go! Thanks for linking up with TGIFF!

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  7. Lovely little quilt! Perfect colours!!!
    Esther
    ipatchandquilt dot wordpress dot com
    esthersipatchandquilt at yahoo com

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