vintage modern swoon quilt :: finished

Warning: Long winded blog post to follow....  If you are interested in my thoughts on the Swoon pattern, read on.  Otherwise, feel free to just scan through the pictures.  ;)

 

I'll say it again, I am thee worst at naming quilts.  This quilt is getting called the "Vintage Modern Swoon Quilt", since it was made from the Vintage Modern fabric line by Bonnie & Camille and the pattern is called Swoon, by Thimble Blossoms.  It could also be called "Erin & Tom's Wedding Quilt" since I made this quilt as a wedding gift for my college bestie & her husband.

 

Let's see, what do I want to say about this quilt....  It measures 80" x 80", so it's kind of huge.  It's the largest quilt I have made so far.  Sadly, it is not quite large enough for a queen size bed.  I know because I tested it out on my own bed.  ;)  I had contemplated making more blocks & making the quilt larger to fit on a full or queen bed, but in the end I decided that didn't make a whole lot of sense for my friends.  I thought it would be best to make them more of a "throw" quilt.  However, 80" x 80" is a helluva "throw" size quilt.  Each block measures 24" finished, so if I had done 2 blocks across, the quilt would have been about 55" wide.  Then, you have shrinkage from the quilting and washing, so I wasn't sure that it would be wide enough.  Plus, I wasn't in love with the look of the quilt being 2 blocks across & 3 blocks down.  So in the end, I decided to just go with the pattern as written and did a 3 x 3 block layout, with final measurements of 80" x 80".  The quilt is in the wash as I type.  Once it is washed & dried, I am going to measure again & see what the "final"dimensions are.  In the past I have found my quilts to shrink about 5% from quilting + washing & drying, so I usually try to account for that when making a quilt.  (I don't pre-wash my fabrics, because I think the sizing helps when cutting & sewing and also because I'm just plain too lazy to pre-wash and then have to press them.  Plus, I like using pre-cuts & fat quarters.)

This is also the first time I have made a square quilt.  It seems that quite a few of the patterns I have seen lately are square.  When I started making this quilt, I thought that was no big deal.  It turns out, for some reason it bothers me.  Maybe it's just me.  I think I just prefer the look & functionality of a rectangular quilt.  I think if I was snuggling up on the couch watching TV or reading a book, I would be somewhat annoyed by the extra width of the quilt.  Hopefully my friends are less picky than me...

I know this post is probably coming off quite negative.  Don't get me wrong - I like the fabrics and I thought the pattern was really fun and fairly quick & easy to make.  (Non-directional prints work best and can be chain pieced, which makes it even quicker.)  I think I learned quite a bit about what I personally like best when making a quilt, and I'm glad for that.  

After choosing the beige colored background fabric (which I am still so glad I did), I had thought I would use the same beige fabric for backing & binding.  However, once I had the quilt top pieced, I just felt that there was a 'wow' factor missing and that the quilt needed something more.  So I went with the matching red fabric for the backing & then also as the binding.  (Since I machine stitch my binding, I like to match the binding & backing so you can't see my binding stitches as much.)  I think the red binding really frames the quilt well and I'm so happy with that choice.  

I used the long arm at my LQS and quilted a pantograph called "Oh My Feathers".  I was a bit nervous about the quilting motif and thought about doing something more abstract, but I think the feather design turned out really well.  It's always amazing to me just how much impact the quilting has.  

Photo taken by my Uncle John - I love how the quilting stands out in this picture

I wish I was going to be giving this quilt to Erin & Tom in person, but I will be 34 weeks pregnant at the time of their wedding.  The wedding is in California, and I live in Iowa, so I've decided to stay home just in case.  I was 6 days "overdue" with my daughter, so I'm not sure how likely it is that I would go into labor out there, but I guess better safe than sorry.... 

More about this quilt here, here, here, here, here, and here (in order of newest to oldest posts).  

Quilt Stats:
 Fabric:  Quilt top - Vintage Modern by Bonnie & Camille for Moda & coordinating beige background fabric, also Moda
                Batting - Hobbs Heirloom
                Backing - Red Moda fabric
                Binding - Red Moda fabric
Pattern: Swoon by Thimble Blossoms 
Dimensions: 80" x 80"  
Started quilt top: May 2nd, 2013 
Finished quilt top: July 13th, 2013 
Quilted: on long arm at Quilt-N-Kaboodle by me, with help from Kim Barrett  
Made for: Erin Steenblock & Tom Chia for their wedding on August 10th, 2013

-V

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday.
Linking up to Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday.
Linking up to Finish It Up Friday hosted by Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts.
Linking up to Confessions Of A Fabric Addict.  
Linking up to Richard & Tanya Quilts.