Half Square Triangle Quilt Done

Last year I started this quilt. I based it on this quilt. It just shows you though, that no matter how hard you try to replicate something, you always end up with something quite different. I still prefer the more subtle palette of Megan's original, but I often think that I fall in love with the fabrics people choose rather than the pattern and that it's a real hostage to fortune as you can never quite match them unless they are current fabrics.


I knew that this quilt would be for Penelope so I decided to use brighter fabrics. I wanted to avoid making it overly pink or purple as these are Penelope's least favourite colours; seeing as they are GIRLS colours and she hates GIRLS. Urgh! Yucky! I liked the use of light and dark blues in the original so I tried to incorporate these and just use one slight green fabric.


I used Kona Ash for the solid. I found trying to find the exact warm grey/brown fabric impossible so the ash was a compromise. I am still annoyed about it. It lacks the slight warmth I would have liked. It's too grey. But I just couldn't wait any longer and to be fair, I looked for it at Birmingham and Duxford and couldn't find it so you can't say I didn't try.


I bought the backing at Duxford. It was cheap which was a great and it's Penelope's favourite colour; orange. I think it goes really well with her Ikea duvet cover.


I finished the top quite quickly. But since November it has sat around waiting for the next step. It was in danger of toppling my enormous pile of quilt tops which never get finished. So I decided to plough on through to the bitter end. I hate basting. I am just not set up for it. I hate machine quilting as I am just not set up for it, but it worked out fine in the end. I used my favourite Quilter's Dream Puff wadding because it is so light and bouncy. I didn't want it to be a heavy quilt as they annoy Penelope. I also want it to scrunch up nicely and be really soft.


It looks a bit flat at the moment. I toyed with the idea of doing the quilting 1/4 inch from the seams on either side but it was twice the work so I just did one line down the ditch. A wash will tell the true story. I am in no doubt this will need washing over and over so it will never look this flat again. I have not prewashed any of the fabric which I know could spell ruin but part of me wouldn't mind if the colours merge and blotch a bit.... well I say that now. I just want it to look scrunchy and well loved and the grey could benefit from being washed with a slight purple tint.


The other thing I wanted was for it to fit the top of her bed perfectly but have no bits draping. At present her quilts tend to drag off onto the floor because her bed is pressed up against the wall and they just tend to slide off. So this needed to just cover the top which it does perfectly. I can see this quilt being used a lot. All of her baby quilts are slightly annoying for her now as she is so tall that her feet poke out of the bottom. I never really thought she would be such a quilt person, but she loves them!

Right onto the next UFO! I am on a roll!

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