Quilt #15 - Rainbow Skies

2009 was really a year that I started making a lot of quilts.  I did a lot of baby quilts that year as well as some good-sized lap quilts.  Early in 2009, I decided to make a quilt for my husband's grandmother.  She was an avid garment maker her entire life, but had never made a quilt.

She had recently moved into a senior community, and while it was a very nice place, it seemed to be lacking some color.  I opted to make a quilt that had every color of the rainbow in it.  I actually had a lot of fun picking out the fabrics and loved seeing them all spread out together.



The layout of the quilt was very simple and consisted of all squares.  This was before I knew the benefits of strip piecing, so I cut each square out and sewed them back together in the order per my design.  I was very "ordered" at the time and made sure all my pieces lined up properly.  I had fun putting the strips into an order such that each strip had one additional color added to it.  I know...I'm a bit crazy.  :c)


Here's what the layout really looked like:


And the layout for the full quilt (minus borders):



It didn't take took long to piece the top together.  I did make sure to pin all my intersections though, so that took some time to do.  I wanted to make sure that all my corners lined up just right.


I opted for a very simple black border around the quilt.  I wanted something that would hide the dirt (so it wouldn't require a lot of washing).


I started quilting it during the summer on my domestic sewing machine.  This was long before I had my frame, so it involved marking each square and quilting it.  I had a lot of trouble with skipped stitches and bobbin thread poking through to the top, but I worked through it.

My little "helper".... "what you want to quilt this thing?"


"but this is my cozy bed.  Can't you tell I have it just so ... and I have a little pillow too!"


"Fine!  You want to take pictures of me?  HERE I AM!!"  Ellie was very helpful with quilting this quilt.  At least I know its a good quilt since it was cat approved.


So several weeks later (notice the Christmas tree on the left of the picture), the quilting was done and the binding was complete.  I took these pictures just before I wrapped up the quilt to give as a Christmas gift.


Some of my quilting... not my best work, but it was a learning experience.  I even switched threads based upon the colors of the squares.  I think I had 5 different thread colors that I used for the quilt.  I don't recall the bobbin thread I used, but in the top, I used several different variegated threads from Superior Threads.  These were all from the King Tut line.




I really love the happiness of this quilt.  Even looking at the pictures makes me smile and thing of spring and warmer temperatures.  Speaking of that... we just got through another nasty storm here in upstate NY.  Last night we had another 16" of snow come down.  Sure glad I didn't have to go out today!

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations