Foxglove & Rose Medallion Quilt

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Instructions

I had a little difficulty with this quilt. The diagonal zig-zag border took a lot of time. I had never worked with triangle shaped pieces before and not only did it require quite a bit of work, I couldn't seem to get the hang of getting the points sharp or matching the points precisely in the middle. By the time I got the knack of it I was finished with the majority of it and I just wish that my work had come out a little more clean and sharp.
I'm also not quite sure about my color selection, If I had to redo it, I wouldn't have used the medium floral with the light yellow background, nor would I have used the small pieces of the white with pink flowers on it. With the light yellow fabric, I would have chosen a material with a background that was rose pink based, and with the white fabric with flowers, I would have chosen an darker mauve or burgundy solid or slightly mottled. I had a little difficulty with this quilt. The diagonal zig-zag border took a lot of time. I had never worked with triangle shaped pieces before and not only did it require quite a bit of work, I couldn't seem to get the hang of getting the points sharp or matching the points precisely in the middle. By the time I got the knack of it I was finished with the majority of it and I just wish that my ...
Read full instructions »

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Difficulty:

Category: Quilting

Type of item: Functional

For: Women

Style: Casual, Classic, Romantic

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Materials

Seven different 100% cotton quilt fabrics were used to create this quilt. One of the fabrics was fairly large scale floral. This was used for the foxglove print, the large center star shape. A medium/ large floral was used for the large triangle shapes. (It's the light yellowish floral fabric.) I would refer to the pattern listed which shows a photograph of the quilt to get the best idea of what fabrics will work together. The pattern was originally for a wall hanging, and the fabric colors were less colorful and more in the same color family. The background fabric color on the original was tan. I wanted to experiment with bolder color choices and more design or pattern in the fabrics I chose. I added a border to increase its overall size. It's backed with light pink backing material, with white thread quilting, except for the binding, which was sewn on with a green, blue, yellow variegated thread, which I think complemented the binding fabric colors. The quilting I did, was quilting in the ditch. I also used Warm and Natural Cotton Quilting batting. I think it works best on most things.

What was your inspiration?

I wanted to make a quilt for myself, since the weather is getting a little cold. I saw this pattern for a wall hanging and really liked it. I wondered what it would look like if I changed the colors, I didn't care for the tan and golds and wanted more color and pattern and I wanted it to be a larger size so I could use it as a quilt while watching T.V. on the sofa, or when hand sewing or reading.
I don't know if I quite accomplished it, but I wanted to take the risk of combining a lot of pattern and color. I tried to push the limit while not going overboard and becoming to garish or loud. I was a bit limited since my stash isn't huge and I didn't want to purchase any additional fabric, since it was just for me and not a gift for someone else.

What are you most proud of?

I'm most proud of the fact that I got through with that diagonal zig-zag border. At one point I thought I was never going to get all four sides completed. I ended up taking quite a few of them apart and resewing them, or some of them wouldn't come apart neatly, because the pieces were on the small side, and I had to cut new ones from remaining fabric, I am thankful that I did learn a lot, but it was a long, tedious process.

What advice would you give someone starting this project?

Cut the pieces very carefully and precisely with a rotary blade. This will help when you piece it together later. There are a lot of those diamond shaped pieces and some are cut from front side of the fabric and others from back. Pay close attention to how many of each you will need, or you'll end up cutting more later and might not have enough fabric.
Be very patient, I like to get quilts done quickly. This pattern is not a good one to rush. The more time you take on it and the more carefully you create it will yield much better results and fewer mistakes to remove and resew.
Good luck and have fun. I learned a lot and improved my skills making this quilt. It may not have been all fun, but I am certainly proud of the fact that I didn't give up, and accomplished the creation of this intriguing quilt.