collins, a finish

when you first start quilting, you try a lot of different things as you become familiar with the skills involved and begin to figure out what you like. you make a lot of things that don't necessarily reflect your personality or style. somewhere along the way, your own style preference and quilting "voice" emerge. your quilts begin to really feel like "you" and not just a reflection of someone else or what's current and popular. you discover the distinctive nuances of your own as they emerge and take shape.

when i scroll through my completed quilts, now numbering about 50 sewn over the last 11 years, i see lots of quilts that don't particularly reflect me personally, and i can see me finding my way to myself as a quilter. i feel like "collins" is a quilt that is very "me" in style and overall aesthetic. it's a simple pattern i created on my own (but so obvious and intuitive that i'm certain it's been done before). i am very, very happy with this make.

"collins" was inspired by a quilt i saw on instagram by maker megan collins. you can read about it's beginnings and design here. i loved megan's color palette and created a simple pattern to play with her colors in a quick and easy way. i call the block arrangement "coins and cash," because it involves 4 stacked "coins" paired with background rectangles of "cash." i've made one other quilt in this layout already, "summer berry fields," and would like to play with it again.

the backing for "collins" is one of my favorites. i just love the fabrics i used and how they look together. i got a large piece of "heart bloom" by amy butler from her "hapi" line for westminster fabrics, which makes up the bulk of the backing, and used one of my favorite low-volume blender prints, "sunshine" from "sunnyside up" line by corey yoder for moda fabrics, a print i bought in bulk and use a lot. between these two prints, i made a strip using up leftover cash and coin blocks from the top. i love, love, love this backing.

the only thing i don't absolutely love about this quilt is the binding i chose. it works pretty well, i just don't love the print as much as i do all the others in the quilt. and the color is more golden than the other browns i used. i'm pretty sure i didn't have enough of any prints from the top to make into a binding and not wanting to order anything new, pulled this from stash, thinking it would work. i don't hate it; i just don't love it as much as the rest of the quilt. it seems like i always end up using one fabric i'm not happy with in most quilts and this is the one for "collins."

i machine quilted it with a modern loops/herringbone pattern, which always works up very fast. i decided to go perpendicular to the coins with the loops running vertical on the quilt rather than parallel to the coins running horizontally, for some contrast and unexpectedness. this did require me to do more marking of the top with my hera marker, but it was worth the minimal extra effort.

i completed the binding on "collins" last march and it's been loved and used in our family room rotation for a year now. for some reason i never got around to posting it as a finish.

here's a look at the top and backing fully laid out:

it measures 52" x 64".

you can see more photos of "collins" in progress on instagram at #collinsquilt.