Off the Rails

Thanks Amy for putting together Bloggers Quilt Festival! Here's my offering. There were so many great suggestions for names for this quilt like "Birds on a Wire" or "Peaks and Valleys" but when Jodi suggested that they looked like railroad tracks I decided that this quilt was a little "Off the Rails".  Its very similar to my "Skittles" quilt but with less white. Last month when Saffron Craig so generously sent me some of her beautiful Bird Tree range I had two designs in mind that I wanted to try, so I made two baby quilts (instead of one larger one) and now I can't decide which one I like better.

This quilt was very quick and easy to piece as I stacked and cut six layers at a time. I didn't use any templates or precise measurements making angled cuts, and that's generally the way I like to work - quite free and fun.

I agonised over the quilting. First I machine quilted horizontal wavy lines across the quilt using my walking foot and pulling the quilt from side to side (about 3/4 inch from peak to valley). Then I hand quilted 1/4 inch either side of that line a couple of times with Perle cotton no.8 in green, pink, yellow and purple. One evening as I was quilting I wasn't sure that I liked the way it was coming together and decided that in the morning I would unpick the whole thing (this is when it was 3/4 completed!). Luckily in the morning my sister in law, Kaila, saw it and told me she loved it and I was nuts and just to keep going with it. I'm so glad I did because I now think the quilting looks lovely and adds another dimension to the quilt.

I also love how it looks on the back. I seem to go through an uncertain period with most of my quilt where I'm just not sure that I like it and I'm tempted to scrap the whole thing (usually its my husband that tells me I'm nuts and to just finish the thing!). Fortunately I usually love it by the end. Do you ever go through that with your quilts?

I used flannel on the back of this one and Quiltlite as the batting. I just love how its so drapey and soft. The Quiltlite (a very lightweight cotton openweave fabric) was lovely to quilt with, both on the machine and by hand. I'd definitely recommend using it for baby quilts or quilts with a flannel backing, so they aren't too thick and stiff.

I'm very excited that this quilt will be appearing in Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine next year!! Its so rewarding seeing my work in print, and I love seeing professional photos of my quilt (I'm sure their photos wont have fingers in it!) They have kindly allowed me to show and sell my pattern in the mean time. I'll definitely let you know as soon as the magazine comes out.

The pattern is now available on my Downloadable Patterns page, and I have combined it with the "Skittles" pattern (just in case you can't decide which one to make either). Both patterns contain instructions for a throw size as well. Kits are available from Saffron Craig in two colourways.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, and make sure you check all of the other great quilts at Bloggers Quilt Festival.