(Final) FAL Finish: Fairy Quilt

Yes, I did it!  I've finished my niece's quilt in time for her birthday!  In fact, I've finished it about a fortnight to go so have plenty of time to keep it in the airing cupboard to ensure it's completely dry after being washed and (mostly) tumble dried.

I started this quilt in April and wasn't at all sure I'd get it finished in time (there's nothing like deciding to make a quilt for a present when the birthday is fast approaching, is there?!) but thanks to some canny block designing which made the (machine) piecing as quick and simple as possible, as well as putting just about everything else aside, I'd finished piecing the top by the middle of May:

As you can see, it's quite a large quilt for a soon-to-be four-year-old (this is a double bed  and hers is a single) but her mam likes quilts which go over the top of the pillows and can be tucked under them, like a bed spread.  It'll make a great quilt fort, I'm sure!

The quilting wasn't without its minor dramas as I had to rip out nearly 1100" of (machine) quilting as I didn't like what I'd done (the wonky lines weren't wonky enough and just looked sloppy) but once I started on the straight lines, it went relatively quickly and all the lines were done by the middle of June:

I had a break from it for a couple of weeks while I recovered from the quilting (I have M.E., which means that any form of activity results in some sort of 'payback'; the bigger the activity, the higher the payback and the more time I spend in bed as a result.  Truth be told, I'm still recovering from the quilting, almost a month later.) and then trimmed the quilt and bound it in the same yellow as the sashing strips.  Here it is before washing:

And the (slightly skewwhiff) back, which is made of leftovers from the front (the white fairy print was going to become a pillowcase but I needed it for the back!) and 3m of a pale pink on white polka dot which was in my backing stash:

I love the texture of those straight lines!

And, just in case you haven't seen enough photos of it, here it is enjoying the sun, alongside a certain someone who resolutely refused to turn his face to the camera:

If you look very (very!) closely, you can just see the outline of the label in the bottom left-hand corner.

And the corners - you can just make out the dotty backing fabric:

I washed and dried it (in my mam's machines - thanks, Mam!) yesterday and it's now in the airing cupboard.  I took a photo of it before putting it in, though, and I think it's crinkled nicely:

All in all, I'm pleased with this quilt and can definitely see me making another one in this style (this is my second one but they've both been designed 'from scratch' using Sarah's marvellous design as a guide).  In fact, I've had one planned for about a year and making this quilt has made me shove it up the to do list!


Quilt stats: (this is mainly for my benefit so I can refer back to it if needed!)

Size before quilting and washing: 62.5" x 109"
Size after washing: 61.5" x 108" (it hasn't shrunk much, has it?!)
Fabric: two panels of Butterfly Dance in pink and the main butterfly dance print in both pink and white (all by Cinderberry Stitches) and various pinks and whites from my stash and scrap boxes
Pattern: based on the Stained Quilt by Sarah
Block size: 15" x 15"
Sashing: 0.5" (in Kona Daffodil)
Wadding: Warm and white
Backing: leftovers plus three metres of pale pink on white dot (Makower, I think)
Binding: Kona Daffodil
Piecing thread: Aurifil 50 wt 2021
Piecing setting: stitch length 2, top and bottom tension 'normal'
Quilting thread: King Tut 'Angel Pink'
Quilting setting: stitch length 3, top tension 5.5, bottom tension loosened so the screw says twenty five past eleven
Quilting design: Straight lines 1" apart, plus in the ditch either side of the main sashing strips

This is my final finish for this quarter of the Finish Along and I'm linking up with Adrianne:

Archie continues to enjoy the sun:

No, I'm not going to pose for a photo, this is as good as you're getting.

Thanks for popping in!