A-B-C Crib Quilt post 2 of 2 First Finish 4th Quarter FAL 2019

Serpentine quilting stitch in process

One of the rules to participate in the "Bust Your Stash Two Inches at a Time" challenge is to quilt your project. Often, people prefer to quilt by checkbook. They don't think that they can quilt their own work. I thought that if I shared a sample of a less involved quilting process, I might have more participation in the challenge. If you missed the post about the challenge, you can read about it here.

I prefer free motion quilting; but this time I decided to quilt this project using the walking foot! A lot of people use the walking foot when quilting their quilts. To do the ditch quilting, I used a cotton thread and the walking foot!

Close up view of the pebble quilting background

When it was time to quilt the blocks, I chose a 40 weight variegated polyester thread by Superior and a cotton thread in the bobbin to stitch a serpentine stitch. On my machine, serpentine is a zig zag stitch that I left the width as it was; but, I lengthened the stitch to 2.75. I used the edge of the walking foot as the guide along seam lines. I used the seam guide attached to the walking foot to quilt the six inch wide blocks.

I was pleasantly surprised at how fast I quilted this section of the quilt. I had planned to quilt diagonal lines; but, after finishing the vertical lines and taking a step back to view the piece, I decided more quilting would detract from the vertical structure of the design.

Label and sleeve ready for hand stitching

From the beginning, I had planned to quilt pebbles around the letters since the sashing was a dot print. I used a cotton thread on top and a yellow cotton thread in the bobbin. It took hours. . .about six to quilt this little space; but, I liked the results.

When I stitched the binding to the quilt I found myself to be about ten inches short! I cut another strip from the yellow flannel that JoJo gifted me and then I had enough. I practiced my machine binding skills. I still have a ways to go; but, the process is getting easier for me! I still am not sure how I stray a bit from the edge with my top stitching though!

A-B-C label

I used 5 1/4 yards of fabric for this project. I have now stitched 77 1/2 yards of fabric from my stash this year. Had I purchased the fabrics, threads, batting and needles for this project, I would have spent about 66 dollars. It took me about 24 hours to design, cut and stitch this project.

This project was goal number nine on my 4th Quarter FAL list. It is my first finish for the quarter! I made it because I was inspired by the novel, "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. If you missed the first post, click here to read it.

Finished front

My friend, Martha, would be tickled that I used her fabric scraps to make a quilt for a kid! She loved making quilts for kids and donating them to various organizations. Had she stitched this project, she would have said that is was bright and happy!