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Monday, May 30, 2011

Straight Line Quilting

This 3 day weekend was devoted to making a baby quilt.  I used my scraps for the quilt top and binding and bought some bright pink Kona cotton for the backing.  I used the straight line quilting technique, so on this 45" square quilt I ended up with 143 lines!  It was a little over whelming after a while.  I listened to A LOT of songs on my I Pod and took several breaks but I was determined to meet my goal before the Bachelorette started Monday night!  I cut all my scraps three inches wide and then at different lengths.  For the white I used a white bed sheet.  The next time I do this type of quilt I will definitely spend the money to buy some white Kona cotton because the sheeting fabric was too thin.
After I got the quilt top made I used my living room floor to sandwich it together.  I like to use the pad under the carpet to secure my safety pins in to hold the quilt backing in place and then I pin the quilt about every 4 to 5 inches.....
Before I started quilting, I was trimming loose threads and accidentally cut into the quilt top.  I had to patch the hole before I could start quilting............
This picture shows that I almost have those 143 rows of straight line quilting completed! I started in the middle and used a seam as my guideline and from that point on I moved the quilt to the left and used the edge of the sewing foot as my guide.  This made my rows be approximately 1/4" apart.
It was not easy to keep it all in line, so there are some rows that are very close together for when I had to get myself back on track............
Here's the back of the quilt showing the pretty pinkness and the fabric scraps I used for the binding.  I cut the binding 2.5 inches wide, ironed it in half and sewed it raw edge to raw edge on the back side first and used the blanket stitch to secure it to the front.
Here's how the quilt looks after putting it through the washer and dryer.  I love how the tiny rows all puckered up....
Here's how my patched hole turned out.  Hopefully it won't be as noticeable to others as it is to me!
All folded and looking pretty......
Folded the opposite way to show the bright pink backing and the striped binding.....
Again, next time I do a quilt with a lot of white in the quilt top I will use a thicker fabric to avoid the seams "popping" through the top!  I'm not liking these showing at all.  I trimmed threads before I sandwiched it together but I still ended up with some loose threads showing through the quilt top too.  Lesson learned the hard way!
Scroll down to see who all I have linked up to this week.....

27 comments:

  1. This is just beautiful! The straight lines I'm sure were a long process, but the end effect is absolutely stunning!

    Jeanette
    http://jeanette-myownfourcorners.blogspot.com/

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  2. Oh wow! What a fabulous quilt! So many of those straight lines! Well done for getting through them all!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a great week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  3. What a great quilt! Love the bright fabrics and striped binding! And the straight line quilting looks fantastic!

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  4. I saw this over at Creative Itch. I LOVE IT!!! Straight line quilting is my favorite, but yes, it can be very frustrating. You did a beautiful job on this!!!

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  5. What a beautiful quilt! I love the fabrics you used and I love the look of the straight line quilting. I'm sure the baby (and mommy!) who receive this quilt will LOVE it!

    Saw you at Making the World Cuter (I think ;)!

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  6. I love this straight line stitching. Very good job! Love, love!

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  7. Wonderful! I love all those fabrics, they're so bright and cheerful!

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  8. looks awesome! are you able to quilt without a walking foot? impressive!

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  9. Lovely job... You have inspired me to go ahead and give straight lines a chance on my daughters quilt. Visiting from Sugar Bee's Take a Look Tuesday.
    ~Kimberlee
    {Accuquilt Giveaway} 

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  10. that looks wonderful!! I love the quilting!

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  11. Gorgeous! The lines are perfectly straight, I LOVE it.

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  12. Really lovely! Love love love the colours! You must have died when you cut a wee hole in it. I have done that before! Your straight lines are so... well... straight! Excellent!

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  13. This quilt is beautiful. It really is. What a great idea to quilt the long straight rows. It looks absolutley beautiful.
    liZ
    (simplesimonandco)

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  14. WOW! This is beautiful! I am amazed that you finished over a weekend! Thanks for sharing!

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  15. Fantastic job! I can only imagine how dizzying this must have gotten after a while!

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  16. is a beautiful work ... I love the quilting

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  17. Hi Oxford! I'm visiting from {Yesterday On Tuesday} I saw your link up there! I LOVE this quilt you've made it's amazing! Thank you for sharing! You can find me here: http://onestopbabygifts.blogspot.com
    Hope you have a great day!!

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  18. Whoa! You are patient and the straight lines look really nice on this quilt.

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  19. Such a beautiful quilt. You did a great job on the quilting.

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  20. Beautiful. This coming fall I have decided my first quilt needs to be made. Thank you for the beautiful inspiration! Love it.

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  21. Your quilt turned out beautiful! Thanks so much for posting this, while I've made a lot of patchwork toppers I'm about to "quilt" my first piece and I was lost. I think I'll use this straight line technique:@)

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  22. The quilt is beautiful despite the mistakes and the wrong fabric. I love the bright colors you used. I will have to try this tecnique of straight line quilting some time. Thank you for sharing.

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  23. Love your blog!! I am definitely going to be your new follower :) I would love it if you followed me to @ for-the-luv-of.blogspot.com that would be great :) I am just starting out, but I am excited to share new recipes, crafts, and makeup.. And Giving away giveaways on mineral make-up!

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  24. Great quilt. I'm your newest follower.
    x Marnie

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  25. Amazing how you have done all of those perfectly straight lines!!! Looks great!!!

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  26. Your quilt is lovely! I love the simplicity of straight line quilting. Is it difficult to pin baste on carpeting?

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  27. Oh what a beautiful quilt. I love the look straight line quilting. The fabrics you used are so pretty. This is going to be a well loved quilt.

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