I finally finished the binding on my green and grey quilt yesterday.

The quilt did not quite turn out like I envisioned it but I am pleased with the results none the less.  When I started making the blocks I thought there might be more stronger contrast between the grey and green so you could clearly see the pattern of the star, but alas it was not meant to be.  Instead I think I have a  quilt that you have to search harder to find the repeating pattern, making the whole thing more interesting.  The finished quilt is 48 inches by 48 inches, just the right size for a kids quilt if you ask me!

If you are interested in the start of the process for me, and links to the pattern you can find my older post here.

At the end of the process I had an extra block (my maths is not what it used to be) so I decided to use it on the back.

I played with a couple of different bindings (scrappy, grey and green) and settled on using a Kona solid I had in my stash.  I continue to be amazed at how something as simple as a binding choice can radically change how your finished quilt looks. The solid bright green just gave the quilt an extra pop.

It would be interesting to hear what you think of the finished quilt.  Does it work for you or is it too muddy?  I really value the opinion of my fellow quilters/artists out there.

I am not sure if it is considered cheating or not, but because the majority of my quilts are kids size, the task of finishing them is not as daunting/labor intensive as an adult size quilt.  I must admit I do like the fact I can try an idea or color scheme out with out too much commitment.   With the gretchen quilt I wanted to try two things I had not done before –  the pattern, which is a very traditional quilt pattern and the orange/blue color scheme.  Here is the results….

I must admit I am really pleased with how this quilt turned out.  The colours pop and the pattern looks complex but is really quite easy.  I blogged about this quilt block a couple of weeks ago, and included a couple of links to the pattern.  You can click here to find it if you are interested.  I went the paper piecing route and the only annoying thing was using the tweezers to remove the bits of paper wedged where eight corners meet.  I did learn a valuable lesson with this – if possible remove as much of the paper corners before you sew the blocks together.  I really does minimize the tweezer work and save time in the end.

I did simple straight line quilting, following the lines of the block and then stitched around the center of the square.  I am still traumatized by the stipple quilting I did recently and think straight lines are still the go for the next couple of quilts.  In my quilting defence (i) there is no stitching in the ditch and (2) I think the quilting compliments the piecing.

When it came time to put the back together I found in my stash the most perfect backing fabric….Ed Emberley’s Giraffes from his Happy Drawing collection.

I love this print and will have to track down some more, as I used it all on the backing.  The design is fabulous and very boy appropriate.

For the binding I choose a solid navy/denim cotton which seemed to work really well.  I hand stitch all my binding and the little bit of stretch in the fabric made it easy to work with.

Now I am heading back to my pink & yellow quilt.  After posting my work in progress this week, my niece has claimed the quilt as hers, so I am trying to get it finished fast.