flower pot quilt

We are having perfect weather with a slight drizzle every morning this week and a nice cooling breeze. I can almost feel hints of autumn outside. It probably had an indirect effect on me in choosing colors for the flower pot quilt, this beautiful Nani Iro gauze fabric in warm tones definitely sprites up the mood.

I combined it with another double gauze fabric with the sweetest bear print called nap time. In this print is a baby bear taking naps or blissfully playing with his mom and various forest friends, a bunny, bunch of chicks and even a baby porcupine and their favorite toys are mostly twigs and leaves and flowers that are plenty to be found where they live.

Sometime back I got this delicate French ribbon with smiley porcupines from a local shop. I added this ribbon on the side border. It shows how this porcupine family often sneak their way into the garden in the hazy dusk light, looking for treats. They must be super thrilled to have all these plants and fruits for themselves, when pesky humans are soundly asleep!

I have always been in love with Nani Iro dots, especially in this print, they are very cheerful and bright. I couldn't help spreading their joy a little more in the form of big yellow pompoms in the corners. Instead of usual way of quilting and binding a quilt, I was thinking of a different way to finish it. First I layered the quilt top and batting together. Basted them with pins and quilted in the ditch both horizontally and vertically to keep the patchwork squares from shifting later.

Then I trimmed the batting to the exact size of the quilt top and laid these yellow pompoms in the four corners facing towards inside and their threads hanging towards the outside. It is the opposite of what we see in the finished quilt. I basted them in this position by hand stitching and taped the pompoms to the quilt top out of the way, to make sure I don't accidentally sew on them in the next step.

Then I laid the backing on top right sides together with the quilt top. Secured the sides with pins along the edges and sewed carefully with a quarter inch seam. When I was coming closer to a corner, I had to press on the pompom a little with my fingers, for the foot to stitch smoothly and not have a bumpy ride. I hope my explanation makes any sense ;-)

I left a 5" gap on one side to flip the quilt right side out. I pressed the edges neatly and then closed the gap with a slip stitch. I liked how the quilt looked without any top stitching on the edges, so I decided to tie the quilt in the back to keep it secure and avoid any shifting of the backing fabric in the wash. I used Londonderry linen thread for tying.

On the back is this soft organic cotton fabric with a checkered pattern. This happy quilt is in my Etsy shop. 

'Mustaherukka Bears' fabric is by Kokka from Fabricworm shop if you are interested. I got a half yard bundle of four prints from this collection. I also used Quilters Dream low loft cotton batting for the first time in this quilt and liked it a lot. By the way, this quilt measures 33" x 38 1/2".

Thank you for stopping by! Have a pleasant evening! ( ^ u ^ )