Kira Quilt and Virtual Sew-in

I finished assembling the Kira quilt top on Thursday. I’m happy with the finished result, though cutting and piecing was a bit of a struggle. The hand-dyed fat quarters used were not all 18" x 22", and mistakes were made during cutting. I had down-sized the quilt block to be able to use FQs, thinking I could cut four 9” squares to start, as the pattern calls for 10” squares (and also gives the option of cutting from yardage.) I’m glad that I measured the FQs after ironing, but when stacking them for cutting didn’t double-check that they had straight edges.

It felt like an episode of WHEN QUILTING ATTACKS! – a shout out to one of the segments of The Knitmore Girls Podcast. It is really encouraging to know that even seasoned knitters have problems—and how they overcome them. The same holds true for quilting – it’s not quite like pointing out the flaws in a quilt, just acknowledging that it isn’t always smooth going, and there are ways to work through challenges.

The background fabric is an Island Batik with 3” birds in different colors from several years ago. It will look a bit brighter with white batting behind it, rather than a dark blue curtain. While assembling the blocks, I did try to match a bit of color in the birds to the semi solids. The pattern does not have a lot of matching points, and has very clear cutting and pressing directions.

My West Seattle quilt group had scheduled a quilting retreat for this past weekend, and the unusual amount of snow caused it to be cancelled. We held a Virtual Retreat instead, sharing photos and projects in progress. It was fun to re-connect, as I wouldn't have been able to attend in person. I basted two small quilts, and quilted one (Rail Fence baby), photo to come after binding.