I have a new quilt to share today! I love looking at homes that have interesting-shaped windows and that's what I kept thinking about as I assembled this quilt, so I've named it Windows 😊 It finished at 64" x 72".
I designed this in early 2019, as part of the 30 Quilt Designs challenge with Sandra of MMMQuilts, but then it just sat waiting until a few months ago, when I realized it would be the perfect design to showcase these fabrics. The fabric line is Golden Aster, by Gabrielle Neil for Riley Blake, except for the background, which is one of the colours in the Blossom line by Christopher Thompson, also for Riley Blake. Don't they look perfect together?
I love making circles with the Drunkard's Path blocks and they're really not as hard as they look. Did you see my tutorial for them last week? If you've never tried them, you really should! They're fun and make you look like a very skilled quilter (even though they're not hard, lol).
And, of course, I also love HSTs. They're so versatile! In Windows I used the HSTs to make hourglass blocks in two sizes.
When I calculated the sizes to cut the borders for the small hourglass blocks, to make them the same size as the large ones, I got it right for the side borders, but somehow figured I needed double the size for the top and bottom. It makes no sense whatsoever how I figured that, considering I was starting with a square and wanted a square at the end. I didn't even realize my mistake until I had cut and sewn all of the blocks 😣 The blocks were all perfect placemat size, lol, but that wasn't exactly what I was going for. Thankfully I was able to trim the blocks back down to the right size, so there was no seam ripping involved.
I opened my last King size package of Warm and Natural batting when it was time to baste this quilt. I still have a full box of pieces of batting, but none of them are wide enough for a throw size quilt now. I guess I'll be piecing battings for a while, lol. And making more small quilts, so I can avoid piecing the batting.
I quilted (and pieced) Windows with Aurifil 50wt thread. I pieced it with 2311, then quilted the windows with 2785. I debated using 2610 for the grey print, since it would have blended in better, but I was too lazy to change thread when I could just quilt the whole block with the 2785 (might as well be honest. The decision was made purely out of laziness!).
I quilted around the full circle, then in the ditch between the quarters, then quilted concentric circles that wobble all over the place to fill the circle. I certainly wouldn't win any awards for perfectly spaced and curved lines in these circles! I embrace all the wobbles, though, and love that from a distance you don't notice the wobbles at all. The lines are kind of hard to see in the diamond print, but they are there.
For the small hourglass blocks, I outlined all of the pieces and quilted continuous curves in the triangles. I managed to do each block without stopping, though I did stitch along an outside edge twice to make that happen. Travel stitching was easier than stopping and starting again.
I debated doing the continuous curves in the large hourglass blocks, too, but in the end I decided to go with some back and forth lines. I actually really like how the blue thread shows up on the grey print. I need to remember that I love the look of contrasting thread and maybe plan a quilt where the thread will be the star one of these days.
I used Aurifil 2420 to quilt doubled loops in the pink background. This design is super quick to stitch and I find it really relaxing. It gives the quilt texture and keeps it soft.
I didn't have quite enough of the Blossom in navy for the backing, so I added a strip using two of the Golden Aster prints to make it wide enough. The Aurifil 2785 blends in perfectly on the back, but you can still see the texture of the quilting, and the 2420 shows up nicely on the navy.
I chose the diamond print for the binding and I love how it frames the quilt. I love my labels from Finer Ribbon, too, especially now that I've started attaching them in the corner. I don't always get the words perfectly centered in the corner, though, as you can see. At least you can still read it!
My plan had been to release the pattern for Windows today, too, but that's not happening. This back-to-work season has really affected my productivity. You'd think that after doing this for years I could remember how much I can get done in the average week's worth of evenings and weekends and then start projects accordingly. Apparently, though, being off for almost 6 months, with the freedom to work on projects whenever I wanted, totally erased all memory of how hard it is to get stuff done while also working. No worries, though. The pattern is started and now that I'm not spending my evenings quilting, I should be able to have it ready soon.
Edited to say the pattern is now available! You can get the PDF version or the printed version with free shipping 😊
I'm linking up with TGIFF, NTT, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop, Beauties Pageant and Free Motion Mavericks.