How's this for a modern tumbler quilt? I love this quilt. I started making it for friend who had a baby last autumn--just so you know, I'm never on time with handmade gifts and I've accepted that. Because she's not a really close friend, I decided not to splurge on fabric and use only scraps and other stuff from my stash. But as I got further into the process, I realized that i. love. this. quilt. How could I possibly give it up when the colors flow so well together and it brightens every day?
Let me repeat, she's not a really close friend. During the process of putting this one together, I also read a post that discussed handmade gifts and the appreciation of the recipients. It would be an incredible tragedy to gift someone with a handmade treasure like this that took so much time and thought only to find that they don't appreciate it nearly as much as you would have if you'd have kept it. So far, I have only given these kinds of gifts to family and a few close friends who I am certain appreciate the love that I put into the project.
So does that justify my selfishness for keeping this one? Maybe not, but since it was my time and energy, I have complete control over the destination of this quilt. And since my 3-year-old, who typically couldn't care less about something I've made him, lit up with excitement when he saw this one and asked if he could have it immediately, there is just no better place for this one to go.
When I first became obsessed with modern quilts, I realized that most modern quilters didn't use borders. That's actually what intrigued me about modern quilting. But the more I quilt, the more I find myself attracted to quilts with borders. A border frames the quilt design and, I think, brings more attention to it. I'm not saying that borders are necessary all of the time--I've seen so many lovely quilts without borders--but I do think I will be using them more often. A quilt with a border looks more like a photo inside a frame and I really like that look.
For the backing I used this dot fabric from the "Wild Cat Woman" line by Loralie Designs. It's just greyish fabric with black dots, but once you know what it's called, it certainly does look a little girlish . . . but don't tell the boys.
I quilted this one by first outlining each column of tumblers and then quilting inside each column following the same outline. I then quilted around the border with a few straight lines on both sides. I didn't quilt inside the border because I wanted it to pop out of the design. Very simple as far as quilting methods go.
This quilt measures 36" x 36".
It's just lovely . . . and it will definitely be well appreciated.
