This quilt has been months in the making. Rarely do I say that, but this one took a while to complete. In the summer of 2020, we took the boys to Fishers to catch Pokemon. This is my first time publicly admitting I play Pokemon Go. While we were out, I ran across this building that was a random spot for quilt inspiration but I loved it.
Fabric Selection
We chatted it over and I decided this would be a quilt for our new house. Ah yes, we sold two houses and bought one together in August 2020. Before we moved I emailed the wonderful team at Crimson Tate to help me put together a bundle of solids that would match these colors. We added a darker blue to fit our decor a bit more. The colors are linked at the bottom of the post. The team at Crimson Tate delivered and I quickly picked up my bundle in July 2020. For the backing I wanted to add Heather’s Night Hike to it. We love the outdoors, so this fit perfectly with us.
The fabric sat in a bag for months because Porter had to do virtual learning and it sucked all of the creativity out of me. If you’re a parent that has had a kid home elearning, you may understand. There wasn’t much left to give at the end of the day. He went back in October and I was able to get some cutting done.
Piecing
Making the top didn’t take long. It’s just strips, but the pinning in place took a good bit of time. I don’t pin many things when I’m piecing, but I knew in order to keep this straight, this would be a crucial step. Otherwise, this could have been a wonky hot mess!
The quilt top turned out huge. We planned to put it on a queen-sized bed and I knew the five columns wide would work. It became a beast to maneuver. I had forgotten how big a queen-sized top can feel. Luckily I had a plan for pressing and keeping the seams nested as I worked. As we wrapped up Christmas break, I decided that was a good time to baste this sucker and get finished. The boys would be elearning again for another two weeks. If I have it basted I can work in small chunks on quilting this.
Quilting
While basting I turned on Crime Junkies podcast and got to work. This almost didn’t fit the space in my living room I had set up to baste. The fabric had to be STRETCHED for the backing in a few spots along with the batting. I should make a note not to buy backing fabric until I’ve completed the top. I bought like 4 yards of Night Hike thinking I would use the leftover solids on the back. Wrong…I have started on a series of quilts using the scraps from this one. More on those later.
A random box of solids I had received from a friend saved the day. That aqua blue had yards and I pivoted my design to make it work. Then off to the machine it went. Deeper and deeper into true crime podcasts I got. If you haven’t listened to Crime Junkies yet, do so. I adore they are from Indy. I would quilt in just a few minutes here and there.
Once quilted I grabbed some Robert Kaufman White and Gray wide back grid I had curtains at my old house and made it into binding. I couldn’t decide just one color to use, so a white made it soft and works in the color scheme.
The Finished Quilt
I love the finished product on this quilt. Before I started sharing any photos I did reach out to Fishers Parks Department about the building. Ratio Architects is responsible for the design of the building that inspired this quilt. We had great weather this weekend and we went out to shoot some photos of the quilt with its random spot for quilt inspiration.
It’s back on the bed and we are snuggling under it at night. There are more solids quilts coming in the upcoming weeks.
https://www.crimsontate.com/shop/c/p/Free-Spirit-Solid-Essentials-Slate-Grey-x22634409.htm
https://www.crimsontate.com/shop/c/p/Tula-Pink-Solids-Putty-x32443371.htm
https://www.crimsontate.com/shop/c/p/Tula-Pink-Solids-Cerulean-x32443357.htm
https://www.crimsontate.com/shop/c/p/Free-Spirit-Solid-Essentials-Olive-x26877239.htm
https://www.crimsontate.com/shop/c/p/Free-Spirit-Solid-Essentials-Royal-x26877254.htm
https://www.crimsontate.com/shop/c/p/Free-Spirit-Solid-Essentials-Freedom-Blue-x49308832.htm