Thursday, March 29, 2007

Couch quilt - finished!

I've been working on this quilt for a bit, and I've been hinting at it too. It's a quilt to snuggle under when we're on the couch. I finished it earlier this week, and I'm thrilled with it!


It's hard to take a picture of the whole thing!

Pattern - Free Lotus Brick Quilt pattern by Amy Butler
Fabric - Various from Purl Patchwork

This quilt was a joy to work on from start to finish. When I was finishing the binding, I was actually a little sad! It measures around 68" by 65" so it's not quite a full quilt size. I'm going to talk a bit about the process of making the quilt, so bear with me!

When I first started thinking about this quilt, I wanted something simple to show off the fabric that I bought as a bundle at Purl Patchwork during the holidays. Rob loved the fabric in this bundle.

At first I thought about making a coin quilt, but then I saw this free pattern on Amy Butler's website. I liked the simplicity of the design, so in Tim Gunn mode, I decided to make it work! I drew a schematic of the quilt and tried to lay out the fabric in a pattern that wouldn't have too much fabric in the same place. Six fabrics kept making strange patterns, so I added a seventh fabric to help out.


After I completed the quilt top, I wasn't happy with the results. I wanted the diagonal patterning to read more strongly, and I thought it looked to patchwork-y. But Rob really liked it, so I moved on.

My beloved diagonals.

The most difficult part of this quilt was finding a backing fabric. Originally, I had some vintage yukata fabric I wanted to use.

Love the detail.

But even though I washed the fabric twice, the dye kept running. So I decided to play it safe and used this Robert Kaufman fabric that Rob liked.


I think he made the perfect choice.

Even my binding is getting better!


So, in the end, it's the perfect quilt for us. Since Rob was so instrumental in helping choose the fabric, I let him choose the name. After much hemming and hawing, he decided on the "Patchwork Bond Quilt". He told me that bond is the term to describe a brick pattern (such as a running bond or basket weave bond) (I can pretend that it's really named after Daniel Craig, right?).

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the simplicity of it: white and numerous other fabrics, plus a subtle backing. It's very beautiful, Mari!

- MJ

shizzknits said...

It turned out beautifully! That's the perfect size for the couch IMO. I made quilt that size for my first quilt, too, and we use it all the time for snuggling on the sofa.

You did some nice work!

Anonymous said...

The quilt turned out great! I love the fabric you used for the back & binding. Very nice! Now you've got me thinking about a couch quilt... hmmm... :)

amber said...

it's awesome! Seeing all your sewn/quilted projects is making me want to learn to sew. Such great projects!

dlittlegarden said...

Thanks for the comment yesterday! That quilt looks gorgeous. I SO want to start sewing quilts, but the last time I actually finished a sewing project was back in 2nd grade, when I was in 4H. I'm getting lots of blog-inspiration to try again, though!

Sarah said...

My goodness, you certainly are turning into a sewing machine! The quilt looks great -- so comfy to curl up on the couch with!

Anonymous said...

the quilt turned out beautiful!!!

lsaspacey said...

Great job!

Hey, since you will use it for snuggling, why NOT name it after Mr. Craig!

Anonymous said...

So regular and simple, but absolutely gorgeous!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that turned out really well! I love your fabric choices. You've pushed me one step closer to making a quilt of my own. ;)

goodkarma said...

Mari. This quilt is so beautiful. It's definitely got this "Mari aesthetic" that goes so well with the rest of your home's decor. The diagonal lines are eye catching yet simple at the same time. But "simple" doesn't seem to catch what I'm trying to say.

It's perfect.

wardstorms said...

I love this quilt. Your choice of fabrics is wonderful and I love the white. I've seen this amy butler pattern but your take on it makes me look at in a new light.

Kristin said...

This is so inspiring. I LOVE it.