Quilting Outside the Box

On October 6th, Cricut announced a mini quilt contest with a deadline of October 16th. That's exactly the kind of challenge I love!

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If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!

I had just finished my Autumn Lattice Quilt, so open weaving was still on my mind. I wanted to try another related idea for the challenge.

The requirements for the challenge included a white/green/silver/gray color palette (the Cricut brand colors), a 12" square mini quilt, and a deadline of just ten days. However, the stakes were high! Cricut would choose 32 mini quilts to display in their fall Quilt Festival booth, and the top 3 winners would each receive a new Cricut Maker! (If you haven't heard, it's a cutting machine made especially for cutting fabric! I have a Cricut Explore Air, but the Maker holds much potential!)

I dug through my stash of white, green, and gray fabrics. I always gravitate towards solids, so I landed on a nice lime green and my go-to bolt of Moda Bella 98 white. (I ended up not using the darker green in this photo.)

I made 1/2" wide fabric tubes for the weaving.

Then I used the white fabric to make the main sections of the quilt.

I wove the strips using the same method from the lattice quilt, and tucked the ends inside the quilt sandwich.

I used 50wt Aurifil Shining Green #5017 and my walking foot to stitch vertically just inside either side of the weave to hold each strip in place.

For quilting, I followed the edges of the weaving strips to extend the lines visually to the edges of the quilt. At the ends of the lines next to the weaving strips, I backstitched to lock the stitches in place. It's not the prettiest way to secure the stitches, but it is the fastest. Given the deadline for this quilt and the amount of time I had to work on it, this was the best choice. For the quilting on three of the strips, I used the darker 50wt Aurifil Green #2870. It's difficult to see the subtle difference in the photos, but in person, I really like the added asymmetry it adds to the overall design.

Once the quilting was done, I was actually quite surprised to see that the quilting lines created a square (on point) with the main woven section. I didn't have the foresight to predict that, but I really loved the result!

I applied the binding just as I normally do, but I did not stitch over the open gap where the weaving was (not when stitching the binding to the front or back).

Once the rest of the binding was stitched down (by machine), I hand stitched (!) the front and back of the binding together between the gaps. I never hand stitch things, so I'm not sure what type of stitch I used. I just made sure the stitches were hidden between the layers of fabric so none are seen.

I love the end result!

I named the mini "Outside the Box." I feel the quilt really represents where I'm at currently as a designer, and I can't wait to test the open weave idea at a larger scale.

I had just enough time to snap a few pictures before mailing it off to meet the deadline.

I haven't uncrossed my fingers since shipping it! I'll be sure to let you know if I win a Cricut Maker! Well, I wasn't one of the winners, but my mini will be hanging at Quilt Festival!

Linking up with Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River, Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter, Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication, Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF at Anja Quilts, and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.


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