Confetti Party

Happy Spring in my part of the world! And woohoo! We had sunshine and unseasonable 70-degree temperatures on Thursday--just right to photograph my just-finished Confetti quilts.

You've seen a lot of these blocks before. (If you haven't, you can click on the Confetti label on the right sidebar or at the end of this post to see some of them. I may have missed some labels.) It's fun to have these finished. I started blocks last July, making a few at a time. They are from a pattern of the same name by Rachel Hauser, with a combination of chain piecing to width-of-fabric background strips and foundation paper piecing in four different blocks that can be arranged every which way for a random look.

I made the blocks in batches of about 12 to keep the mess down as I was also working on other projects. By the beginning of December I had 48 blocks. I thought I'd make 1 more block for a 7-by-7 block quilt, which I did at the end of the month. But I had so many colorful fabric bits left that I just couldn't stop. I still had a fair amount of background fabric, so I ordered a bit more and made 35 more blocks for two 6-by-7 block quilts. (I almost kept going, but it was time to wrap up this project and get on with some others. 

Trying to photograph in between warm (!) breezy gusts.

I quilted these up a few weeks ago using one of my favorite motifs for one which my husband calls Piedmont. I mark wavy lines diagonally from corner to corner and then quilt the four quadrants in different directions with walking foot lines following the waves about 3/4 inch part.

 I stippled the other quilt with my free motion foot. 

I wanted to highlight the black and white background in the binding. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted at my two nearby fabric shops but did choose a black fabric with scattered tiny blossoms. I had buyer's remorse almost immediately, thinking the black was a little too stark. I wondered if turquoise would have been a better choice. But then, while I was photographing the quilts on the driveway, my neighbor (who also quilts) stopped by to see and volunteered that she really liked the black binding framing the quilt. Whew! And yea! My regrets disappeared. 

I really do like how these finished. The pattern designer highly recommended a scattered print for the background fabric, but I did not want to spend the money on the premium fabrics available. So I ordered the regularly spaced dotted fabric from a major craft store, and I think it worked fine with the small sized dots. With all the fabric cuts, it ends up looking scattered.

Initials/date on washout marker. Oops. Some stray threads there. How did I not see?

Happy backing

I do have to share that I had a heart-stopping moment when I pulled the quilts from the washer. There was color showing through around many of the colored parts. I realized that the fabric--because it was my cheap alternative--was rather thin and would show seam allowances when wet. I took a deep breath and dried the quilts anyway. They came out fine except for a wisp of peach around a couple of orange bits. Then I remembered that I had the same trouble with that fabric when I used it in a quilt for my granddaughter more than 10 years ago. (I've used it since, but not next to white.) Rewashing helped that time, so I rewashed the new quilts and now only myself or another picky, overly observant quilter would ever see the remaining hint of peach. Sorry I don't have after-washing photos showing the yummy texture. It is too dark and rainy today to take them.

More initials/date. They'll disappear to texture with washing.

I do have a favorite of these look-alike quilts. I always like stipple quilting, but the Piedmont one is a bit more dramatic, so it is the winner.

These quilts were time-consuming but so enjoyable, and they used up a surprising amount of scraps. I think it would be fun to try one sometime with a more limited color palette. They do require quite a bit of background fabric, but I suppose neutral scraps might work as a variation. 

Here are the stats:

Pattern: Confetti quilt by Rachel Hauser

Fabrics: Years of scraps; dotted and floral fabrics from big box craft store for background and backing; Riley Blake Blossoms for binding.

Batting: Fairfield 80/20. (My machine loves this.)

Thread: Superior Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; Superior King Tut in Temple for quilting; nondescript hand quilting thread in black for sewing down binding (label is missing)

Size: Pieced 48 1/2 by 56 1/2 inches

         After quilting: Piedmont 48 1/2 by 56 1/4 inches; Stippled 48 by 55 3/4 inches

         Washed: Piedmont 46 by 53 inches; Stippled 45 1/2 by 52 1/2 inches. 

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for walking foot and free motion quilting and for machine work on the binding.

I will be donating these quilts to Margaret's Hope Chest for the Mother and Baby Program (treatment program for mothers with postpartum mood disorders) at Pine Rest Hospital. The mothers use them as a comforting shawl during therapy sessions. 

I plan to register them with the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge. By the way, sign-up is today with Mari over at The Academic Quilter. She is standing in this year (in some pretty big shoes) for Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict while Sarah takes some time for self-care. Thank you to both Mari and Sarah!! 

I'm linking up today with Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauties Pageant and Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap.

Okay, time to get back to sewing all the yellows for Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month. We need a bit of sunshine-colored fabric with all the dreariness of this poor old world, don't we? Quilting time is meditation/prayer time, and there is much to contemplate. 

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.)