A Fabulous finish

I was delighted this week to have not one but two quilt finishes this week. But there is such can be too much of a good thing so I'll hyst  blog about one today.

Judy's Bluebird Quilt
I've been working on this quilt for a couple of months. It started when my sister Joy asked me if I would like a set of 12 embroidery blocks that she had completed 7 years before but had not done anything with. The blocks were from a BOM that my sister-in-law Christine (from Bluebirds and Bumblebees) had designed in 2008. Each block represented a different month and featured bluebirds. I had already made 2 quilts from these blocks that my mother had embroidered in the months following my father's deaths so had some ideas of what I could do with them.

I decided that I would make the quilt for Joy's daughter Judy. I asked Judy what her favourite colour was and she said blue. I raided my stash for a variety of blues which I used to make square in a square blocks both on the embroideries and also other blue based squares, including some lovely fabric with large butterflies. 

I arranged the blocks featuring the embroideries along with the blue square in a square blocks alternatively, 5 to a row in 5 rows. I sashed them with pale lilac.

I constructed piano key borders for the outer border with pinwheel cornerstones and that finished the top off. 

For the backing I used a blanket I had bought for another project but which proved too small. It was long enough but not wide enough so I made a panel out of some of the left over pianokey borders which I had to extend. I inserted the panel down the centre of the blanket but it still wasn't wide enough. I made another strip using various squares and pieces of leftover fabric from the top of the quilt and inserted it into one of the halves but it still wasn't wide enough so I made a 3rd strip and inserted it into the other half and it was finally just wide. 

When I pinned it I found that in places it really was JUST wide enough. I thought that I might have to join a bit of wadding in but I was able to make it work. Because the blanket was very stretchy I had to pin it really well

I stippled the quilt all over apart from the embroideries which I left clear and just echo quilted around the embroidery block.

For the binding I used  two tone blue aboriginal print which has framed the quilt beautifully. I machined the binding to the front and Joy, who has been visiting me for 10 days, has done the hand stitching both with the binding and the label. 

It was finished off today, just in time for Joy to take it home with her tomorrow to give to Judy when she sees her.

Linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazymomquilts.blogspot.com