Reflection - Ta Da!

Let me tell you about Reflection - there she is after washing and a night on my bed. She is about 53" square after a good wash and dry. Reflection was made from many fabrics, so she is definitely scrappy. But I cut a lot of the strips from brand new fat quarters or half yards I had recently purchased from several different fabric lines, so I don't think it is fair to say she was made from scraps.



I quilted Reflection on my new long arm machine using hand guided free motion quilting - that means I moved the machine myself. I don't have a ruler set yet, so the stitching in the ditch around the diamonds was also by hand and although it is wobbly, I just see it as part of my industrial modern quilting style.

For the quilting, I wanted a really industrial and rugged result that was basically lines but that would be fast and easy to do. I am very happy with the results. However, you can see from some of the photos, this quilt has a tendency, at least right out of the dryer, to poke in and out a bit at the points. Given that people are not flat, I am not concerned but it does mean this is not a great quilting idea for a wall quilt. Maybe there are some modifications I could make for the next one to avoid that, we shall see.



The pattern for this quilt came from my friend, Linda Rotz Miller (you can visit her website here or her flickr pages here). Linda was making these blocks, which she said were inspired by Maaike Bakker's book Strip Pieced Quilts, and I was inspired to make some too. Linda is a fantastic quilt top maker, ongoing inspiration and a wonderful teacher, and when I asked she showed me how. If folks are interested I can share that with you too, let me know, Linda said it would be ok with her.



For the back, I used some strips and lovely black print whose designer I have forgotten. The binding was made from some more of some of the prints used in the front.



This is another detail shot after washing. I have to say, that for me, the quilt and the quilting are just not finished until the texture has been added by the wash. Also, we use the quilts, and thus they need regular washing.



That photo above is before the wash and in slightly different light. I so love the colours and fabrics in this quilt, some from the new True Colors lines, some from Botanics, some from my stash, many low volumes from a number of sources. I am not sure if anyone would call this design - which is, in essence, just a bunch of HSTs (can you see them) - modern, but this quilt feels very modern to me anyway.



The back before washing and turned the other way. Once I get tired of circles, I am planning to make some quilts playing with layered lines so it seems that backs might be a place to try out ideas first.



And there she is before the wash and probably in better light. I am going to start another, using slightly wider strips I think. Although I am not generally drawn to quilts that are really "busy", this approach of using the low volume fabrics and dividing the colours into warm and cool groupings brings just the right amount of calmness to the quilt for me it seems. I am trying to decide what kinds of colours and fabrics to use for the next one.

Reflection was also on my Q1 FAL list, it is nice to check her off.

I am linking Reflection up to Sewjo Saturday by Kim from My Go-Go Life.

I am hoping to sew a bit today, it is warm and sunny outside so we shall see what calls my attention most. Enjoy your weekend.

Best,

Leanne