I am so pleased to be able to share my finished City Tracks quilt with you. This is based on a quilt of the same name in a book called City Quilts by Cherri House. Stunning book. Seriously. Check out her blog and book here.
Her version of the quilt was in reds and purples with black bands. It was stunning. I went in a different direction choosing blues and green with pops of yellow and black.
There was a break in the rain this afternoon so the Sweetie and I head over to a place near the UW. We met up with the Kidlet and one of his friends who is also on Spring Break. They graciously agreed to help with the shoot. (Seriously, two 20 year guys holding a quilt in a very public place. They might be seen by someone they knew, doing something uncool. I was unspeakably grateful for their assistance!) The location used to be a hot tub place that has gone out of business. Now it has become an ever changing canvas for spray can based art.
On the front I used solids from Free Spirit. They were all lined up in a row at one of my favorite stores - The Quilting Loft. I just had to have them. These pictures were taken in a break from the rain so it was kind of a grey day. In the sun, this baby glows. Who'da thunk blue would be that bright? I am in love with the colors.
The pieced strip on the back is from left over ends from cutting the blocks for the front. The quilting almost gives it a plaid flannel effect which from a distance is pretty cool. I almost like the back better than the front. There is something minimalist about it that speaks to me.
I quilted with two variegated threads. One was blue based and the other was a bluish/green. On the front, you can hardly tell I used variegated thread, much less two. On the back it is high contrast, but I could have gotten away with only one. You have to be really, really, really close to notice. Hey, but if you never try anything new, you never learn anything new. No biggie.
The quilting pattern is a little off balance on the front, which works for me. It seems to balance out the stripe in each square. It wasn't my original plan. One the first pass, the unquilted area in the center seemed too big - even though the batting instructions indicated stitching could be 8" apart. How would it hold up to many visits through the washing machine? I added two more lines of quilting in each direction for each square. Ahh, much better.
I used Kyoto bamboo blend for the batting. My first time using this. It is a 50/50 Bamboo Cotton blend Super soft but I had fuzzies everywhere. (Super dooper soft. Super easy to work with.) Even after a trip through the wash there were fuzzies. I am hoping because it is encased in fabric the fuzzies are gone for good. This is supposed to be naturally anti-bacterial. For anyone with children or pets that's a good thing - and many of us have both.
Remember the love/hate thing? I love it. I hope you do too.
I am pluggin' away again on the City Tracks (with a link to the blog) quilt. I have taken over the dining room while the Kidlet is home.
I pieced together a back. The primary color is black. The batting is a bamboo/cotton blend. (More on the materials when I finish the project.) And of course the pieced top. I am doing straight line quilting this time using two variegated threads. I thought they might look cool on the back. I haven't decided if I like it or not.
Perhaps I should caveat a few things. I have love/hate relationships with my projects.
I love the project that lives in my minds eye. It is perfect.
I love the pattern - if I draw one out. My projects frequently never make it that far.
I love the fabric once selected. Stacked together I think they are gorgeous.
Things are generally good in the piecing process.
Laying out the quilt can go either way - love or, well not usually hate, but often less in love.
Sewing the blocks together - not love. At this point I begin to have serious doubts.
I love pieced backs. They are made from left over pieces or fabrics from the front. The pattern is much simpler, usually high contrast.
Quilting - again, I love the picture in my mind's eye. The process, not so much as this is a point where doubt begins to creep in again.
I enjoy binding. Don't ask me why, it makes no sense, I just do.
Then a little bit of clean up - stray threads, burying start/stop points. Finally, the finished project and I am back in love.
So this current project is right on target in the love/hate cycle. I adjusted the quilting pattern a bit as the un-quilted center of each block seemed too large. I wasn't sure how well it would hold up to wear and washings in the long term. Added additional rows a bit off center. I'm not certain I'm finished with this idea yet.
I love the high contrast of the back but I'm not going to reveal all of my secrets just yet. The thread color is showing off the quilting pattern nicely, but I'm not sure about it being variegated. The trying new things part of this is fun though.
I may have also reached the limits of my point and shoot camera. This may also be factoring into the love/hate quotient. Even after fussing with the settings this image is not accurately reflecting the depth of color in the backing fabric. It is a rich, deep black. Flash on. Flash off. Natural light. Overhead light. Low light setting. Indoor light setting. Auto setting. Nothing seems to capture it just right. I even read the manual. Of course, the grey Northwest day would not be a contributing factor. Of course not.
The batting is creating fuzzies everywhere. Perhaps this always happens and I am only noticing it on dark, solid colored fabrics. I ran the lint roller over this before I snapped my pic. This is not a quilt for a home with a cat named Snowball. Just sayin'.
Pluggin' away... I hope to have it finished yet this weekend so I can photograph it. This is a two person quilt - too big for just the Sweetie. I have checked with the Kidlet and he is willing to help hold the quilt for it's big reveal and he helped with some location ideas. There is a deadline as he needs to head back to school no later than Sunday. Monday, the new quarter begins. It has been nice to have him around. We might not see him again until June. That seems like such a long time.
