Winter Rainbow : Worth the Wait

It's finished! I still can't believe it. I have been working on this quilt for 6 months and boy am I glad to have it completed. So many things to say about this one...

As I mentioned in my sneak peek post (um, a LONG time ago!), this quilt is inspired by a beautiful quilt by Rita of Red Pepper Quilts. Her work is simply amazing.

Oh, SO many lessons learned and things I would have done differently on this one. 1) I made the first 3 blocks forever ago and then waited months to make the rest. I didn't write down anything - sizes, seam allowance, squaring up size...not smart. 2) I switched sewing machines in the middle of making the blocks. And used different feet. Again, I wouldn't recommend this! LOL 3) I used charcoal thread in the bobbin and really am not happy with how it looks on the back. Sigh. 4) In my quest to be Rita-like, I tried machine stitching the back of the binding instead of hand sewing it. Let's just say, I'm no Rita. LOL

This quilt ended up being a 64" square which I think will be perfect to fit our family for lunches in the park this Spring. The binding is a stripe by Lizzy House Red Letter Day. I know I just used that for a binding, but I had a lot and I like it. :-P Although the sashing looks black, it's really Kona Charcoal. And the prints are just a rainbow selection of my favorites.

The back is 9 large squares using giant blocks of colors from the front. This part was a bit painful for me as I used up some of my favorite out of print fabrics. But I kept telling myself that I bought the fabric to use, not to hoard. So use it!

I quilted it using free motion and used Warm and Natural batting. I prefer Dream Cotton Request Loft batting and even though it's more costly, I think I will go back to using that. It's more lightweight and I feel like it's just a better quality.