Fancy Fox Quilt

Two weeks ago, I won a bundle of Birch Fabrics' organic cotton chambray from Fabric Worm through an Instagram contest. As soon as the fabric arrived in the mail, I knew exactly what I wanted to make!

Each year, I set out to make several pay it forward gifts. I usually post on Facebook looking for volunteers that want to receive something from me. This year, I did it slightly different than in years past. This year, I asked for my friends to nominate other people to receive a gift! One such nomination was for a friend of a friend that is an optometrist. I immediately knew I wanted to make a Fancy Fox quilt!

When the fat quarter bundle of yarn-dyed organic cotton chambray fabrics by Birch Fabrics arrived, I knew it was just the perfect fabric for the pattern!

The fabrics are woven and have a visual grain to them. I wanted for all the grain to go the same direction in all the blocks, so this meant I would have to really pay attention when cutting the pieces. Each fat quarter measured slightly different than a regular fat quarter. They were closer to 19" square. This really affected the pieces since I wanted the grain to all be vertical. I ended up having to change the outside border width from the pattern in order to have enough fabric.

The fabrics are much thinner and softer than typical quilting cottons. Since the fabrics are woven, they frayed more than typical fabrics too. I decided to use a slightly smaller than normal stitch length when piecing to help prevent the seams from coming apart. I love the softness and subtleness of the colors!

After the foxes were pieced, I added Heat-N-Bond Lite to the back of four of the fabrics to make the glasses. Once ironed in place, I straight stitched just inside the raw edge to secure them to the foxes. I don't think I have much Aurifil thread, so I was shocked that the colors I did have matched so well! (I used 50wt thread in #2605 Grey, #1148 Light Jade, #2435 Peachy Pink, #2105 Champagne.)

It just so happened that my local quilt shop hop was this past weekend too! It was the perfect time to take the foxes on a road trip so they could help pick out the perfect backing and binding! I was able to find two peppered cottons by Studio E Fabrics in charcoal and peacock that coordinated perfectly! They are also woven fabrics, still with a soft hand, but much thicker than the chambray. I knew they would add the perfect amount of durability to the quilt. (And I purchased enough of the charcoal to make a garment! Yes, I already have quite the list of projects for 2018!)

I pin basted the charcoal peppered cotton, 80/20 batting by The Warm Co., and the quilt top on my dining room table.

I used my Hera marker to mark an initial 45 degree line across the quilt.

Using a larger stitch length than I do for piecing, I quilted straight lines on the diagonal just over 1/2" apart. I used Aurifil 50wt #2324 Stone for the quilting. It's the neutral that I also used for piecing the foxes. I have an entire cone of it! It turned out to be the perfect color for the quilting!

After finishing the diagonal straight line quilting, I hemmed and hawed over whether or not to add straight lines in the other diagonal direction to create a cross hatch design. I mean, adding them would double my quilting time!

I just couldn't shake the idea of it, so I started in. I knew immediately it was the right decision! The texture was so great! And with my Janome walking foot on my Juki TL-2010Q, I was able to quilt the lines on rabbit speed, so it only added about 20 minutes!

I decided to try cutting my strips for binding 2 1/4" wide again instead of my usual 2 1/2". It worked really well! I just might start using 2 1/4" every time now. There is much less wiggle room for errors, but it seems I have improved my method enough that it works!

The quilt finishes at 28" x 36". It's a great size for a wall hanging, baby quilt, or even a small lap quilt. (And the perfect size for my 4 1/2 year old to be the quilt holder!)

I'm so excited to mail this to the unsuspecting recipient! I'll add a label and ship it off this week!

 

 

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, Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and TGIFF at Celtic Thistle Stitches.

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