Matryoshka Quilt finish

 

So, apart from my post yesterday, you didn't even know I was working on this one, right? That's because I started it last Monday night and finished it a couple of hours ago. Madness! I can't believe I got this quilt done in a week, just shows what you can do when you set your mind to it. But I am TIRED! And my neck is sore from sitting at the machine all week. I think, once I have this post done, I'll be taking myself off to the living room and reading the Sunday papers in front of the fire for the afternoon.

 So, the Matryoshka quilt....... well, this is one of my favourite quilts I've ever made I think. I love the fabrics, I love the simplicity of the construction and design. I love the colour palette. The quilt inspiration was from the big Kokka Matryoshka print and I pretty much stuck to the key colours in that - red, pink, green, brown and cream. I love the size, this one is BIG at 73" x 67".

 

It's got great weight, a lovely squashy texture and will be perfect for snuggling under, laying on a bed, whatever little O, my friend Helen's niece, wants to do with it. It's a little girl quilt, not a baby quilt, and definitly one she will grow into.

I used a few different Matryoshka prints in different colours, as the Russian theme was important for this quilt. I also used lots of Japanese prints, which compliment them beautifully. The square-within-a-square charms come from Cindy's Japanese import charm swap back in the summer and lots of the other Japanese prints come from Pippablue in Galway who have an amazing selection of them.

The back is pieced from super wide strips of pink and white gingham that Helen gave me, and a print from the California Dreamin range, which I got at a madly discounted price in a sale recently - I think it worked out at less than €3 a yard!!

It is very funky and busy but the gingham paired with it makes it really work - I think it looks fresh and pretty and makes a cute backing.

This is the biggest quilt I've made so far and I don't think I could go much bigger than this without having to take it off somewhere else to baste it. Plus quilting it was tough work at times, although I found that piling the quilt in my lap when I was quilting it really helped to manage the weight of it, much more than letting the kitchen table take the weight of it, which was causing a big drag on the needle. I used a champagne coloured Aurifil thread for the top, and white Gutterman cotton for the back and went with a large scale stipple.

 

I am happy to report that I remained delighted with the spray basting and ran into no problems with it, it really was great.

The binding is a cotton poplin that I have in my stash, having previously using it as a backing fabric. I think that it is working ok here!

So, there it is. Ready to be washed and dried and put in the post to Helen on Tuesday, in time for O's birthday. Now, I'm off to that sofa. I may, just may, pull myself off it to make chocolate brownies with the kids later on. But I'm not sharing any!!

Linking up, as always to the talented ladies over at {Sew} Modern Monday, Manic Monday and Fabric Tuesday.