Light Quilt

Last year I shared the story and process behind the making of my Light quilt top and today I’m here to share the finished quilt.  It took me a year and a deadline to summon the courage to quilt this myself.  I was afraid I’d ruin it.  Afraid I’d diminish it’s beauty.


I was wrong.  I simply finished it’s story.


The part of the quilt that intimidated me most was the large area in the middle of the quilt.  Mostly white and largely negative space, I had no idea what to do with it.  Then I quilted my Botanics Quilt and realized I could use the same approach here, so I went to work.


I worked my way from section to section, pushing myself to be brave even if my lines looked wobbly.


In some cases I followed the pattern on the fabric or the seams.  Everywhere else I tried to “freehand” some “straight” lines.  I’ve seen this called organic straight line quilting and I love the way the word organic covers for all the flaws.  The quilting on my Light Quilt is very organic.


Now the quilt is out of the closet, finished and useful.  It hung in the Garden of Quilts a few weeks ago.  What pushed me to finish in time was the chance to showcase my friends and their combined work.


I look at it and marvel that they made something so beautiful for me.  While my quilting is not as good as their design and piecing, it is part of my journey and growth as a quilter.  I decided there is nothing wrong with having quilts that tell the story of the journey.


Even with the mistakes it’s awfully pretty to look at.  Like the Botanics quilt, I’m finding this style of quilting to be very forgiving while motivating me to improve.


The quilt is huge.  It measures approximately 73″ x 96″ and is the largest quilt I’ve done such dense quilting on myself.


I started with that sunburst block above and Jill finished with a perfect fade from light to dark at the bottom.


I had big plans for my label but ran out of time to embroider all of it so part of the information is just written in Sharpie.  Their names are on the quilt and that’s what matters most.


The making, the message, and the friendships captured in this quilt make it a treasure to me.  I am more blessed than I deserve!