Finn's Quilt

A first (perhaps only?) quilt for a first (definitely only) child. The wonderful Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse inspired me to take my scraps in hand. What I can't understand is how she has managed to sew, in the space of time it's taken me to do one, five of these quilts, one for each of her children.

These patches are 2.5" finished squares, and nearly all are truly scraps. I did purchase four fat quarters of blue fabrics to ensure that my son's quilt would tend toward the masculine, rather than accurately reflecting the true yellow-pink bias of my scrap collection.

The photo above shows the unquilted top, which I must admit I prefer to the quilted finished product. In my attempt to take the least complicated path to the desired end (something to use on the bed), I decided to quilt in the ditch on each seam line. But, in the interest of avoiding tucks and pleats on the quilt back, my dear Bernina presser foot #10 (edge stitching and stitch in the ditch foot) had to defer to the Bernina walking foot. I found it quite difficult to keep my eyes and mind focused on following the seam line for a l l those seams.

Anna quilted her scrap quilts in a diagonal grid. Now I wish I had slavishly copied that, too.

I did, however, take her suggestion for binding, which involves leaving 1 1/2" of backing all around the quilt. Then you fold under 3/4", press, and fold again to the front. I zig zagged it all around. Even though I know this isn't a quilt purist's binding method, I'm very happy with how it looks, and that part of the project was surprisingly quick.

Sewing machine notes: I pieced the top on my Necchi BU (circa 1954). When I began this project (winter of 2008), the BU had just taken her place in the sewing room. We bonded over her comforting, smooth, weighty hum through the nearly-one-thousand squares in this top. Quilting had to take place on the Bernina 160, which felt like a comedown after enjoying the Necchi so much. I did purchase a high shank walking foot for the Necchi for this project, but it ended up not fitting properly. One of these days I'm going to try again.