Sunday, January 15, 2012

Small Quilt - Week 3

If you are following along with me you have already pieced the blocks for this month's little quilt from my book Prairie Children & Their Quilts - am I right? Yesterday, I put the sashing and borders on mine and that's your task for this week. It will only take a few hours, maybe less. If you're just joining us, scroll down the blog to see the quilt we're working on that was posted a couple of weeks ago.


Take your time choosing your sashing and borders. I always audition tons of prints before I choose which print I want to place next to the blocks (for the sashing) and which ones for the inner and outer borders. The quilt in the book uses the same print for the sashing and inner border but I used a different one for each for this quilt.

Take time to choose your outer border carefully as well. Look at the quilt in Prairie Children. This is a great way to use up a large floral print you may have been saving. If you do that, make sure your sashing and inner borders are not as busy as the  border print. Pick a smaller pattern perhaps so the border stands out and doesn't clash with the inner border or sashing. For this quilt I'm making along with you, I chose a small tan floral for a very different look.


These were a few of my other border choices and I hope I picked the right one. Which one would you have picked? All of them would have looked cute.





As you can see, I made the four-block version so it did not take me long at all. Since the original quilt was very dark with dark blocks, sashing and borders, I chose to make this little one in lighter tones, keeping the dark blocks.


Ta dah! The top is done after only a few hours. Choosing fabric took the longest time. I almost chose one of the other blue and tan floral prints but then decided on this subtle print primarily because when I quilt it I want the quilting to stand out a bit. Also, I don't have very many quilts with a light border.

Have fun and show me your quilts -  either in the Yahoo group photo album or on Flickr. Next week I'll try to motivate you to quilt it before we begin another small quilt for February.

9 comments:

Colleen said...

I like the lighter border, especially since this is one you will have in addition to the other one for the book. And, I like the print in that one you chose too.

Phyllis said...

Love the borders you chose. It is usually harder to chose the colors than to do actually sew. Love your small quilts. I have become addicted to making them. Thank you.

Kathleen Tracy said...

Phyllis, you are so right. Choosing fabric takes me longer than sewing.

Sandi said...

I think you picked out the best border. I love all the fabrics, they were beautiful.

Heartsdesire said...

I like the other borders that you auditioned, but think you made the right choice with the subtle print. This is a slight departure for you, but it's nice to have something a little different. I'm a bit late to the party, not starting my little quilt until tomorrow, and I'll be doing the four blocks. Looking forward to next week and the quilting. Will it be hand quilting, and if so, do you use a hoop? I love your hand quilting on all your little quilts.

Elly D said...

Your quilt is looking very cute. Love the border fabrics you picked out. I also love that you've used a different fabric for the inner border.
Just finished my 4 blocks this weekend and have choosen my sashing and border fabric so hope to get them sewn on this week.
You're right it does take a long time to choose the right fabrics.

EllenaElizabeth said...

Love these blocks, the colours are just right. Thanks for posting.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful choices Kathy, as always!!!
Julia

Sarah said...

Thank you for such a fun little quilt-a-long. Knowing that we only have to do a little every week makes it seem very do-able.

All my fabrics are from stash. They are not perfect matches but I do think they look good in a make do kinda way. I'll post pictures on my blog tomorrow.

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