Jean Quilt #1

 55 x 67

This quilt turned out so much better than I was expecting! Like I said earlier this week, this quilt top was put away last year (along with it's brother) because  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. But someone kindly asked me about them and wanted to know how it sewed up. Being the accommodating person that I am, I decided it was time to finish at least one of these jeans quilts completely so I could answer all of the questions.

I like the sashing because the seams are all ironed toward the sashing which makes the top feel completely flat. No thick seams. I sewed it with my regular needle on my sewing machine and had no trouble at all.

I loaded it on my longarm and did some custom quilting since it's for the kids. It was an awesome practice quilt since they don't care if I mess up. And I did mess up several times. I only unpicked once because it was really bothering me.  I used the same needle I always use for the permacore thread. I think it's a size 18. 

The back is really black soft and cuddle fabric (just like minky) and not gray. I was going to edit the photos, but you can see the quilting better this way. I almost bought the minky dot, but I think I like this smooth version better. It's just as soft and the quilting shows, but no thread shows.

Each size square got a different motif. I used the ruler to do the diagonal, horizontal, and vertical lines, and the X's I put in the little squares. The rest was all freehand. It was my first time doing the watery meander. Not sure I didn't it correctly because I kept getting stuck on the sides or I would end up being too close to loop back and forth. All in all, it turned out okay. I'd love to try it on a whole quilt doing a bigger design.

The two large blocks were quilted with small loops and the word love. It's subtle, but you can still see it. A sweet touch for the child who will get this one without being too girly.

Now the question you all want answered...is it heavy?  Yes, and no. I didn't want to use batting because that would make it very heavy. The cuddle fabric on the back makes it feel like it has batting. The texture is so awesome. I keep rubbing my hand over the designs. I think it's a bit too heavy for a summer quilt, but it will be perfect for winter when the house is colder.  I am even thinking of making one for our bed. It would be for winter when I use 2 quilts (I could just use one if it was this jeans quilt).  I think the weight of it would be lovely to sleep under. It is heavier than a regular quilt, but not so heavy that you wouldn't want to use it.

Some of my quilt holders on standby...

I tried very hard not to stretch the backing fabric as I quilted it. It is just a tad wavy, but it's not as wavy as the first picture makes it look. Here it is laid on flat on the floor.

And just one more so you can see the back is indeed black!

I don't know if I'll quilt the other one next week or not. I think there may be some piecing of a quilt top that needs to be done. We'll see what I'm in the mood for when we get there.

Linking with Needle and Thread and Busy Hands Quilts

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