THE WEDDING QUILT 👰🏼

This wedding quilt is a Disappearing Nine Patch Quilt and was featured in Modern Patchwork Magazine.  This is the first quilt that I did using a longarm.  I quilted this at my local quilt shop after taking their class and becoming certified on their longarm.  The quilting was done with Q -Matic, which is a computer that you program the pattern into and it stitches that pattern out by itself. 

Soon after doing this quilt I purchased my own longarm but did not get a Q - Matic computer with it.  Quilting on a longarm by hand is an art form.  I like to do the design work myself and not have a computer do it for me. Plus, the computer is $13,000.00.

Quilting the quilt at the local quilt shop.

This quilt was fun to make.  It went together well and I loved all the vibrant colors.  I chose this quilt because the joyful colors reminded me of my nephew's girlfriend.  When I met her I just knew she was "the one" so, I ordered this quilt and made if for their wedding because I knew that my nephew would ask her to marry him.  And he did ...

My nephew proposing!

I took some photos as I made the quilt so I could show them how it went together. 

At the quilt shop they gave me Quilter's Dream 100% cotton batting to purchase because that's what they prefer to use on their longarm.  That particular batting is supposed to have a 1 to 3 percent shrinkage factor.  I had pre-washed all my fabrics before piecing the quilt top and then washed the quilt after quilting it and it shrunk 3 inches all around.  This was way more than it should have shrunk and so I contacted Quilter's Dream.  They went over all my measurements and everything that I had done to the quilt, then apologized and sent me out free batting, but I was so disappointed to lose the look of that beautiful quilting.  It still looks okay, just not as nice as it looked before washing it and having it shrink up too much.  For that reason, I never use their 100% cotton batting now. I just don't trust it.

Top part of photo is before washing and the bottom part is after.

I used a 40 weight 3 ply Aurifil thread on this quilt in Natural White on the top and a 40 weight 2 ply thread in Natural White in the bobbin.  The tech at the shop said they had had trouble using the 3 ply in the bobbin so they suggested using the 2 ply.  I also used a Schmetz 90 - 14 Top Stitch needle. Since this was my first time using a longarm on an actual quilt the tech at the shop set the tension and when the quilt came off the longarm I was disappointed to find that the tension was loose on the back. The tech had checked the tension on the back periodically as it stitched and said it was fine.  Nothing I can do about that now.

I purchased this quilt kit after meeting my nephew's fiancée and then pieced it back in April of 2018 and quilted it on the longarm in May.  In August my nephew got engaged and they'll be married in September!  I can't wait ... I LOVE weddings ❣️ My Grandma Nellie always made us all quilts when we got married and I wanted to keep that tradition going. I hope they enjoy their quilt ... it was stitched with lots and lots of love.

Remember to pick up a needle and thread and stitch some love into your world❣️