From A - Finished Contraflow Quilt

In January, as many of us do, I grabbed the brightest and happiest stack of fabric I could find in my stash and started cutting my Contraflow Quilt. After five months and an epic Doctor Who binding marathon, I can finally say that this quilt is finished! 

This quilt was amazingly quick to piece together given its size. The strip piecing combined with the lack of seams to line up, also meant that there was nary a precision moment to be found while making this one. Perfect!

Although I loved the Terrain prints when they were grouped together in the layer cake, I started having second thoughts when I mixed them up into a more random layout. Eventually, I opted to group similar coloured prints together and shift them across the quilt top. I really love the result. I think that the shifts in colour add a nice movement to the finished quilt.

 

In a past slip of the credit card, I somehow found myself with 5 yards of Sarah Watson's Extravagarden Bold. Aside from the charm of the flower stem lizards in this print, I have no explanation for what possibly might have moved me to buy such an insane amount of this fabric. Luckily, it made the perfect backing for this project. It provides a nice and dare I say, almost grown up contrast to the brightness of the front that really helps pull things together.

 

I was a weensy bit short on backing fabric so I added a strip of yellow from Kate's Central Park line and used this strip to anchor my label.

Unable to face the prospect of basting an almost Queen-sized quilt on my bathroom floor, I opted to send this out to get the royal long-arm treatment from Lindsay. I chose a floral design for the quilting that I think really complements the other fabrics in the quilt without overpowering them.

I used my very favourite Dream Wool batting for this quilt. I can't say enough about how perfect it is. In addition to being much lighter than cotton, it is warmer, springier, and the wool's natural springiness prevents those crushed fold marks that I hate so much.

I chose to bind it in an old Tula Pink Parisville print that also came from the stash. It is interesting but doesn't compete with what's happening on the front of the quilt.

It tickles me beyond all measure that every single bit of fabric used to make this quilt came from the stash. Don't you love when that happens?

Final Quilt Details:

• Quilt Name: A Quarter Century
• Finished Size: Somewhere between double and queen (86" x 78.5")
• Fabric: Terrain by Kate Spain, Kona White (top); Extravagarden Bold by Sarah Watson (backing); and Eye Drops in Dusk by Tula Pink (binding).
• Pattern: Contraflow Quilt from 25 Ways to Sew Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes and Charm Packs
• Quilting: Magnolia design by Lindsay from Eileen Quilts