My first quilt finish of 2014!  This was one of the UFO quilts I finished over the Christmas break.  The quilt pattern is Aunt Grace’s Garden from Fons and Porter.  Their version had a wide, appliqued border but I didn’t want to make a double sized quilt, so I left off the border and went sashing free.

Alison and I both wanted to play up its old time vibe, so all of the motifs are very traditional.  Batting is Warm and Natural White Cotton and the thread is 50wt white.  She marked a simple stencil in the centre of the HST blocks.

In the alternating blocks, she did curving triangles and quatrefoils that really emphasize the optical illusion of circles and curves.

Here’s a close up of the quatrefoil.  It’s cute and light, and really fits with the overall feel of this quilt.

I was lucky with this backing.  It’s a small scale OOP vintage floral print that I got for a steal from the remainders bin at Lens Mill.  It was a tight fit.  There wasn’t much left over after trimming, but it suits the quilt top to a tee.

The binding was also very successful.  It was stash, intended for a Easter themed dress that I never got around to making, and so I got the double satisfaction of destashing and finishing a UFO – a two for one! I cut it on the straight grain, rather than on the bias.  It’s a little trickier to match but I like the linear effect.   I also cut the binding 2″, not 2 1/4″, so that it finishes to a true 1/4″.  I didn’t want a wider 3/8″ or 1/2″ binding because it would have disrupted the pattern of the blocks along the outside.

Let me tell you the funniest thing about this project.  One of my web-friends, Rettabug, is making the same quilt, but she’d only begun collecting 30s prints.  So I sent her all my leftover pieces! I had extra squares, HST, strips, the whole bit – I stuffed them all in a cereal box, wrapped ’em up in brown paper, and shipped ’em off to Ohio.  How’s that for destashing?!

I can’t wait to see her version but in the meantime, I’m enjoying my pastel Aunt Grace very much.  It makes me happy every time I look at it.