Madrona Road Challenge - Mission Accomplished

I finally finished making something with the Madrona Road fabric we were given at our Modern Quilt Guild meeting. The deal was we got free fabric provided we make something with it by our end of February meeting, which is tomorrow. To the fabric we were given, I added a yellow solid as well as a little strip of blue solid on the back.

And so this is what I made. There are so many people having babies so I felt I should make a baby or child-sized quilt. This probably falls in the child-size category at 48" x 39".

I made up the pattern based on something I had seen a while ago but I can't remember the what or where of the inspiration quilt so I'm sorry I can't link to whatever it was that inspired me.

See that circular swirl quilting? I DID THAT! ALL BY MYSELF!! ON MY MACHINE!!! Not probably such a big deal to you more experienced quilters but it was a ominous undertaking for me. I finally got up the nerve to just go for it last weekend and with my machine loaded with white Aurifil thread, a couple of bobbins ready, and the first couple rings of swirls freehand drawn with chalk, I started. It was a little slow going to get those first tightest swirls done. After that I anticipated that I would use that steel gauge thingie that attaches to the foot to help with even spacing. As I twirled the quilt, bunching it up to get it through the limited space allowed with my machine, I realized that the gauge wasn't an option. So I eye-balled it and all in all, it's not too bad. Some rings are a little narrower than others but overall I don't think it's that noticeable. I'm pretty pleased with the result. I don't think I'd want to try this on my little Pfaff Tipmatic with a quilt any bigger than this. There are a few jogs in my lines, too, and now I understand what a nice feature that "needle down" thing must be. Someday I hope to have a machine with that. Also interesting was what a workout quilting this baby was! I had to take several breaks to rest my aching shoulders. WHO KNEW??!! I marvel at people who heave very large quilts through their machines.

The back was pieced using leftover fabric. I like it. I think the circular quilting shows up on it nicely. I finished binding it Thursday night and now that I've taken some photos, I'm going to throw it in the wash so it will fluff up a little. And then it will be ready for tomorrow's meeting!

By the way, what I like best about this fabric line is the text fabric. The muddle of story is enchanting and I especially loved finding the phrase, "the City of Bridges". Given that Saskatoon is sometimes called the "City of Bridges", my delight is understandable.