I was off-grid the last few days. Determined to complete at least ONE project, I locked myself in the studio with The Sugaridoo Quilt. The only sound was the whirring of my machine. Such a wonderfully, calming sound.
I began this quilt when Irene of Sugaridoo Quilts and Bernina teamed up to present this modern quilt pattern. The QAL began in November 2019 and ended in October 2020. The 6000+ participants were grateful to have something cheerful through the pandemic. Irene filled that spot beautifully.
I tend to work in chunks, not on a regular, keep-up-every-month basis. “Fall behind, worry, catch up, repeat” is much more my style. So it was March 2021 by the time I completed the top.
However, I had bigger plans for the quilt. It needed to fit our king bed with a drop on both sides. Of course, nothing this big can fit on the long-arm. I had to improvise a work-around.
I created two skinny strips to quilt separately. Then using the quilt as you go method (QAYG), I added them to sides of the already-quilted center section. This worked. Except it didn’t. Let me count just how many problems I caused for myself.
1. I measured incorrectly. Or something. Once completed, the drops barely fell below the edge of the mattress. What a disappointment!
2. I forgot about a container of ALREADY SEWN PIECES. I sewed up the first drops while a container sat aside holding pieces. Nice pieces. Pieces that I used, eventually.
3. I also had binding in the container–spread out in a very relaxed manner. Thankfully, I found the container in the nick of time and didn’t waste all of my fabric.
4. I ran out of the white background fabric and ordered more. Well, I ordered lots more because I was making an order, so ….
5. Figuring it all out exhausted me (actually it was pretty simple) so much that I walked away. This, I imagine, was for the sole purpose of having something almost finished that could haunt me. Maybe it heckled. Whatever. It was not to be ignored.
6. I reinvented the wheel. Again. I wanted the quilt to look like it was all one piece. To me, the QAYG method makes a quilt look disjointed. Maybe I was doing something wrong back then.
It turns out that my QAYG method is perfect! At least I think so. I also think the quilt is perfect. We decided that it’s going to be our winter quilt. The extra weight makes it heavy for summer. I’m hopeful that it will brighten our room through the dreary days and nights of winter.
| Quilt Stats | ||
| Name: | The Sugaridoo Quilt | |
| Size: | 103″ X 121″ | |
| Fabrics: | indigo fabric collected over time | |
| Pattern: | Sugaridoo and my design for drops | |
| Backing: | pieced indigos from stash | |
| Batting: | 100% Cotton | |
| Binding: | indigo fabric from stash | |
| Quilting: | improv with various motifs | |
| Completed: | 2021 | |
| Blog Link: | https://fleurdelisquilts.blogspot.com/2020/06/sugaridoo-bernina-qal.html |
