Modern Sampler Quilt finished!

But I only had the finished top at the last class, which I pinned it up on the wall every week, fully intending to get it quilted before the course ended (fail!). So I really wanted to get it quilted before the new session started. And I wanted to make the quilting a Sampler too.

So I have FMQed every block with a different quilting pattern, and sometimes two, like the Dresden above which has trailing leaves on each petal and a small stipple in the background.

A big thanks to Trudi who gave me lots of pattern ideas at the tabletop class I took with her at FQR last summer. She also suggested breaking your quilt up in to sections and using a different pattern in each bit. So I totally owe this idea to her!
The pattern above is one of my favourites here and one of the most successful I think.

This is the block I tackled first. I love these spirals. Trudi showed me how to do these too – you are amazing Trudi!

There’s a feathery pattern going on over the mini hexies and a sort of interlocking leaves over the
+ and x blocks.

It’s not easy to see all the patterns, this is another one Trudi taught me, I think she called it mussels but framed with sort of flower petals.

And I stole this flower pattern from one of my students, who just started out FMQing and was doing this straight away – you’re a total star Jo!

I tackled each of the borders with a different trailing pattern. I love trailing patterns, I think they are my FMQ forte. So we have a simple leaf for the smallest border, a holly type leaf for the next one and a meandering flower pattern for the outer border.

I am more than delighted by how it turned out and it will be a great study aid for my students when I teach my FMQ class next month. Of course it isn’t perfect by a long stretch. I am still learning and improving. I think quilting is a lifetime of study. But I really enjoy it and that’s the important bit!

It’s backed with a haberdashery themed fabric that didn’t sell very well and went in the sale (I use all the unsuccessful fabrics for my backs!), and it’s bound with the same newspaper print fabric I used to bind my scrappy trip. It’s a great binding for a busy quilt, and let’s face it that’s the sort of quilt I produce!

I managed to pin the quilt to a branch on one of our big spruce trees to get these photographs. A full, low sun is great to show off textures, but below is the quilt out of the sun, so you can see the colours a bit better.

I actually still have a space left on the Modern Sampler Quilt evening course which starts this week. And also a few places left on FMQ Sewing Machine Cover on Sunday 2nd Feb, for all you local folks. Check out the website for more details.
Also would anyone be interested in a pattern for this quilt if I could get my act together?