I have been waiting for some sunshine and a little assistance to get some photos of the finished Rainbow Stripe quilt that I started back in February.  Well the weather (and HUBBY) finally cooperated this morning and I was able to get some shots.  (The mind boggles as to what the neighbours must think of me hanging a quilt over our balcony and then standing in the driveway taking photos in my pajamas!)

So, what do you think?

I’m rather happy with how the front of the quilt has turned out.  (The vertical lines are fold lines not quilt lines.)

The details of the quilt project are as follows:

Pattern: Skinny Strips Quilt

Inspiration: Line Art Quilt Kit

Fabric: Classic Kona Solids Jelly Roll (stripes) and Black Dots from Sunshine & Shadows (background and binding (inverse of the fabric linked))

Machine quilted by: Altogether Quilting

Progress blog posts: Beginning, Middle and End (sort of)

Helen from Altogether Quilting did a great job on matching the individual quilt lines to the inspiration quilt. (I don’t envy her for the amount of fiddling she would have had to do to get it all to work. Seriously, she deserves a medal!) The quilting cotton for the stripes is a mixture of variegated threads that match the colour of the stripe that it was quilted into.  On the background we just went for a white thread in a swirl pattern.

I had been toying with the idea of putting the quilt in for judging at the Canberra Quilt Guild Quilt Show in August but unfortunately the end product hasn’t quite come up to the standard that I was hoping for.  It’s not a massive drama, and it’s no ones fault, it’s just one of those things and it’s something I’ll know better about for the next one. (The quilting that’s showing on the back of the quilt is a little more complex than I was hoping for and the backing fabric choice instead of enhancing it makes it stand out like the proverbial…)

Despite my learning curve I’m really happy with how the quilt has turned out.  I love the bright colours, the detailed custom quilting and the way in which the dotty fabric has formed an optical illusion.  I was so lucky to find the reverse of the background fabric (so instead of black  dots on white, it’s white dots on black) to use as the binding.  It’s really helped to make the binding blend in with the quilt top.

I’m going to really love having this quilt on our bed.  It was such a simple, but effective, project to do and I’m really happy with the end product.  We’re actually toying with the idea of hanging it on display in our stairwell for awhile just so we can enjoy it in a different way.  (Plus it will add some much needed interest into the cavernous white hole that is the stairwell!)

Don’t forget to head on over to Buttontree Lane and check in on Michelle and the progress she’s making on getting her version of the Line Art Quilt done.  I know she’s finished the top (I’ve seen and touched it!) but it’s yet to be blogged (leave a comment and put some pressure on her to do it!).  Her take on the project is so fresh and unique (just like her) and I love it.