Last night I finally finished my pink quilt. This is for a friend whose going through challenging times and when I asked her what her favourite colours were she said pink and red. I went for a pink quilt.

The pattern is a disappearing 16 patch, have a look at my last post on the quilt if you’d like to see the process, it’s actually a very simple block. Here’s the finished top waiting to be quilted…

Not my best photo but you get the gist!

I found a Rose and Hubble fabric for the backing which was perfect, with shades of pink and turquoise leaves. I like the Rose and Hubble fabrics for backing too as although they’re described as a poplin, which I think of as quite crisp, they’re actually quite fine and soft. What I didn’t realise until later is that the line of leaves actually isn’t straight, it slowly drops across the width of fabric – it’s not an issue on a quilt really, but just imagine if you’d made a dress – the hem would be a nightmare!!

It’s the first quilting I’ve done on my new machine and I’m pretty pleased. The extra space to the right of the needle makes such a difference, it never felt squashed up, even when I was quilting in the centre. I initially had a few problems with stretches of missed stitches, but I got out the instruction book, increased the needle size and went on a medium speed instead of fast and the stitching was perfect.I also stitched using a glide mat, this came with a quilting ruler I’d bought and I have to say it’s a game changer! It’s a slippy silicone mat which is slightly tacky on one side to stay put on your machine bed, it has a little hole for the needle to go through, but the top is very slippy. This meant the fabric was so much easier to guide through – quilting is hard work for the shoulders, but this seemed to make it a lot easier, especially for free motion quilting.

I used a pink, purple and turquoise variegated thread for the top thread and a pale pink for the bobbin. I stitched a quarter inch either side of the long diagonals first. I then did free motion quilting with a large flower in each four square block. The diagonal lines needed a bit more in them, so I stitched a four leaf shape on the centre of the cross and also the half way point where there’s a little hour-glass block. I originally thought of trying the new quilting rulers for the border, but after a quick practice I decided I needed a lot more! Instead I stitched a wave pattern on the pink border. This is actually more apt as my friend likes open water swimming and lives at the seaside.

I was originally planning to do a scrappy border, mainly because I didn’t have enough of one colour to edge it. I decided however to use the backing fabric instead,I’m pleased with the lighter binding.

All that was left was a name and a label. All quilts need a name, I pondered on a few, like A Yorkshire Hug, Strawberries and Peaches (too long!) then the phrase In the Pink came to mind, I did google it to check it’s actual meaning and it means feeling in the best of health, which seems fairly apt as I’m sending her the quilt hoping she will soon be feeling ‘in the pink’.

Tomorrow I’ll parcel it up and pop it in the post.

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I get a Whoop Whoop