Sunday, February 20, 2011

Retro quilt complete.

My retro quilt on our queen sized bed - what was supposed to be a smallish lap quilt for the couch turned out bigger than expected!


It is too hot again today to do any sewing (why does it only get this hot on the weekends?!?). I finished my retro quilt top and thought I would share a few photos with you. I know these photos don't look much different to the photos I posted before of just the quilt top, but trust me it's finally finished :-)

It's hard to imagine ever needing a quilt as I type this in the final month of summer, but I know winter will creep up much too quickly and I will soon be thanking myself I have this beauty to lie under.


As it is so hot and we don't have air conditioning, I decided to finish this quilt by tying instead of hand quilting (that is more of a winter hobby!). Just like handing quilting and machine quilting, tying is a well used quilting technique. The technique itself dates back hundreds of years, and is a way of finishing off quilts that are made to be used and are needed quickly. While I did not need this quilt quickly, it will definitely be one will be in regular use this winter - it will be a 'snuggle under a quilt on the couch' quilt.


I decided to tie my knots so they created a decorative 'x' on the quilt top, with the knot fastened on the underside. An alternative way to tie a quilt is using a basic reef knot.



For the backing fabric I used a yellow and white daisy printed sheet I found in a thrift store last month. I had enough of the fabric left over to also use some for binding the quilt, which turned out to look quite nice.


I hand stitched the binding down to give it a neat look. I am thrilled with how easy this project was, and the fact that I was able to make a quilt completely out of vintage fabrics!

If you are wondering where I sourced the amazing fabrics I used for the quilt top, I purchased them all from Etsy shop Zwizzle at a very reasonable price.

Sam xox

9 comments:

  1. good for you, it looks great and I know what a fan you are of good looking fabrics!
    we are just getting rid of all our snow, so this quilt would get a lot of use here! cw

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  2. I love it!! Plain and simple I love that too.

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  3. Beautiful quilt! The knots are a great touch! I've dreamed of having a quilt like this for a long time - I should get started on it :)

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  4. Thanks everyone! I am really happy with the end result :-) A quilt to brighten drab wintry days!

    Sarah - you totally should give it a try. It only requires standard sewing skills and is a really quick project with big results (excuse the pun!).

    Sam xox

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  5. Fabulous! I have thrifted some of that pink oversized floral without a definite plan for it. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best!
    Px

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  6. Love the quilt and such a great assortment of fabrics.

    I've got a similar project all cut out waiting to be sewn up.
    Now I'm feeling all inspired :)

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  7. Miss P - Your right, sometimes the most simple is the best :-)

    Lisa - glad to help spur you on to get your quilt sewn. Would love to see pics when its complete!

    Sam xox

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