Tammy's Quilt

My friend Tammy asked me earlier this week if I would be able to quilt a quilt for her father-in-law. She needed it done pretty quickly, within three weeks because she wanted to take it to him when they go to Montreal before Christmas. Not a problem, I said. There was nothing on the frame, my bear quilt was at a 'contemplating' stage, and the baby quilt I've been asked to make is a 'no rush' make. I got it done for her in two days.

I was a bit hesitant since I've only ever quilted one quilt onto a plush fabric without batting between the layers, and I've never quilted a batiks one onto plush. There was one small issue, which Tammy was fine with.

We talked about thread colour of course, which I was a bit concerned about what with the vibrant batiks and the black areas. I'd originally thought of Aurifil 2600, dove grey, but when I opened my Aurifil drawer, I saw the turquoise variegated spool and thought, I wonder... Turquoise is one of Tammy's favourite colours she had just said. It looked really good we thought. And it does!

I asked her if she wanted me to quilt in her father-in-law‘s name and she said it was entirely up to me, so of course I did!

The tension was just perfect too; I didn’t have to make any adjustments. Love Avril, my Avanté and Bottom Line in the bobbin by Superior Threads. I used a beige bobbin thread, as close a match to the turquoise Aurifil as I have. The issue was that I did find that on the lighter batiks you can see some fibres pulled through to the front. I think this is because of no batting between the layers. I didn’t go up a size of needle as I would normally do with a Minky backing because of the fine batiks. I sent a photo right away to Tammy showing her my concern and she wasn’t concerned. We both think once it’s washed everything will sink in just fine.

Here is the back, a lovely soft velour plush. Tammy bought a plush black blanket to use and said it was up to me as to whether I wanted to cut it to size before quilting it. I elected not to because of the lint! It was a little bit too thick for my liking on the roller bar for the first third of the quilt, but it wasn't long before the bulk was reduced.

It’s a deep black, hard to photograph in indoor lighting 

I think it turned out very well, and I know her father-in-law will find much-needed comfort snuggled up in it! This is only the second customer quilt I've done where someone else has made the top. Interestingly, both were quilted onto a lush fabric: Minky in the first case, and this plush blanket, in the second. No, I am not planning on starting up a quilting for others business! Here and there when a friend asks, I'll consider it but nope, I'm happy to make and quilt my own.