Saturday, May 16, 2015

Philadelphia Finish

It's quilted, bound, labeled, washed and presented. Hooray! And he likes it very much. It finished 77" by 89".

PhiladelphiaFinished
Nine-inch Philadelphia blocks in reproduction fabrics
and muslin sashed with floral stripe.

Wanting soft and comfy, I quilted a diagonal grid in gold colored cotton Gutermann thread. This 50-weight thread is a bit thicker than some other brands and was perfect for this use. To me, it is the machine equivalent of utility quilting. (The blocks were previously ditch stitched with invisible thread.) I had planned to use brown thread but it was too harsh against the muslin.

Philadelphia, detail

Spirals are my favorite quilting design so I added them to the border. I usually sew them completely freehand. This time I marked with Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Circles to delineate the maximum width and keep the spacing even. There are several sizes in the package so it was easy to choose a good size.

Philadelphia, detail of back

Why does the quilting show so much better on the back? There was only one skinny strip left of this Nancy Crow fabric. Not only is it a great design but the material has a beautiful hand.

Philadelphia, detail of border and binding

I've been intending to try mock piped binding for several years and finally did on this quilt. How easy and fun it was! That tiny bit of red perks up the quilt. There are many posts for this technique. I chose Susie's Magic Binding.

Links to the previous posts here.
  1. Beginning the quilt.
  2. Tutorial of the Philadelphia block.
  3. Borders.
Enjoy the day, Ann

12 comments:

Nana said...

I am sure that anyone would love that quilt. The warm colors and the quilting screams....hugs. I love the swirls on the border.

Janie said...

So classic and inspiring, thanks for sharing your good ideas.
Janie@crazyvictoriana.blogspot.com

Mystic Quilter said...

I'm sure he was pleased with his quilt!! I'm a long time fan on diagonal quilting, it's very subtle and doesn't take over the fabric. Love your spiral quilting around the border.

Ann said...

Thanks, Nana. He does like it. It's such fun to try to match quilts to different personalities.

Ann said...

Thanks, Janie. I'm so glad you like it.

Ann said...

Thanks, Maureen. I love diagonal quilting, too. And I was very pleased with the spacing of the lines on this one. It will be very soft and cuddly - perfect for a lap quilt.

Kaja said...

I really like the quilting on this one. Also the lovely blue you used as the thin border really caught my eye. You are doing a great job on these quilts! Lucky boys (though I guess it's lucky young men really).

LA Paylor said...

I like that you wanted to keep it soft. So many people are over quilting now, and lose the comfort. The spirals are a nice contrast to the straight line and keeping them even is a skill. Great job.
LeeAnna

Lara B. said...

I had been wondering if you had gifted you Philadelphia quilt yet and just knew that it would be a hit Ann! The spirals around the border look wonderful. I just received a pack of those Kay Buckley Perfect Circles and know they will be handy for so many things. Piped binding - wow wee! I read a tutorial from Lorna on how to do it and it looked interesting. Were you able to finish all the young men's quilts?

Ann said...

Thanks, Kaja. I really liked the narrow blue, too. It's surprising how well this simple quilt turned out. These boys grew into wonderful men so it's been a special pleasure to make something for them.

Ann said...

Thanks, LeeAnna. I think everyone has an element that is natural to them and spirals are mine. They always relax me... unlike many of the other designs.

Ann said...

Thanks, Lara. Kay's circles certainly made applique easier. I was so pleased with myself when I traced the quilting design with them. I prefer multi-use tools. My binding was faux not stuffed piping. I'm working my way up to that. ;-)