Luna Notte Quilt

Difficulty:

Category: Quilting

Type of item: Functional

For: Home

Style: Classic, Traditional

---

Materials

Moda "Luna Notte" pure cotton charm packs and fabric, cotton thread, Hobbs polyester wadding

What was your inspiration?

I saw some Luna Notte charm packs on the internet and, as there was a sale on at the time, I sent for two of them. They sat for a long time in my stash before I got them out to try and do something with them. As usual, I was in a hurry to get on with it, so decided to make the quilt centre with "Disappearing Nine-Patch" blocks which are really easy. I then scoured the internet for something to match for the sashing, border and backing and found some fabric from the same range. I realised that I really needed another charm pack to make the "piano key" border, but couldn't find one until I struck lucky at a quilt exhibition. I finished it off with an experiment in free motion quilting, which I learnt from a video I found on You Tube, and later used on some baby quilts.

What are you most proud of?

The fact that the third charm pack made the piano key border without one strip to spare - somebody up there must have been smiling on me that day! (Of course, I could have made a four-patch corner out of leftover sashing or border fabric if I ran out, but didn't.) When I'd finished it I stood back and wished that I'd used a black-based fabric (as on the back) as the sashing between the centre and the piano keys, but never mind! The quilt goes with my furniture, which is cream and terracotta colour, so it lives on the back of a sofa, to protect it from the sun and also from Rupert, my cat, who loves to sit on the backs of the sofas. As it's protecting the sofa near a large window, I imagine it will fade in the course of time (even here in England!), but as most of the colours are quite muted, I don't think it will matter too much.

What advice would you give someone starting this project?

It would be more economical, especially if wishing to make a slightly larger quilt, to use a layer cake, cut down into four to make 160 x 5-inch squares.