Blackberry Patches

Finally I am finished with my FMQ project!

I am so happy with how it came out, mistakes and all.

I'm going to call it "Blackberry Patch" because the little flowery black fabric used throughout the quilt reminds me of blackberry flowers. The quilt also makes me think of blackberry lemonade, with all the yellow squares.

This was the first time I free motion quilted a project larger than a potholder or oven mitt.

The quilt backing is a vintage polka dot sheet.

As you can see I had some tension problems along the way. And, there are a few places where my quilting "skipped" because the weight of the quilt was pulling it away from the machine. This created the odd stitch that was about 3 times too long and veered off in the wrong direction. But, that only happened a few times before I got the hang of how to maneuver the quilt and hold it properly.

I also employed a few techniques from Crazy Mom Quilt's Quilt Making Basics. This is the most popular quilt blog I've come across, and I think that is because this lady is really, really good at writing tutorials. I used a flat strip of binding and didn't do any ironing, I just machine sewed it to the front and then folded and pinned it in place before hand sewing it on the back. So easy!

Poor little guy, look at that sad face. Wrapping him up in the quilt made him feel a bit better but all in all it was a rough and ready photo shoot because little David needed some attention. I just managed to get a shot of his little Easter basket that I made this out of willow this morning - first basket I have made in years. It is really tiny but it was a nice project for getting back into the craft of weaving.

The problem with basketry sometimes is timing. I put this willow on to soak about 8 days ago - it has been ready to weave with for a few days already. I had to make something or else the bark will peel if it soaks too long, and the willow will kink up instead of bending nicely.

This quilt was made with 100% recycled materials, except for the thread and batting.

It measures about 52" x 70".

I am so happy to have saved this project and turned it into a finished quilt. It feels really good to have it all done! Time for a picnic?