Alphabet and Shirts Quilt Along Week 5

We’ve made it to Week 5 in the Alphabet and Shirts Quilt along. This week we’re talking about quilting and finishing our projects.

Week 5 Video

Twin Alphabet Quilt is Quilted!

I quilted my twin-sized Alphabet quilt–yay! It is one of those things where taking small, steady steps has gotten me to the finish line and it feels good.

I could have gone in any number of different directions in terms of quilting this quilt, but in the end I decided to quilt straight-ish lines in the borders and overall loops in the letters in the center.

Straight lines create such a nice texture in the borders, and the wider spacing of the lines keeps the quilt loose and soft to the touch. I didn’t want the quilting to be too dense and stiff.

Since the quilt is going to my niece, I thought that the loops are a playful motif that are fun to trace with your finger. I don’t know if you do this, but I love using my finger to follow the path of quilting on a quilt. It’s just so mindless and enticing. I hope this will be a fun thing for her to enjoy along with all of the different colors and fabrics.

I personalized the project with a little free motion note to my niece in the borders. I mention this in the video this week, but I would love to quilt all-over cursive letters in a project like this sometime. It’d be pretty and so fitting. Since I didn’t do that this time, I wanted to include a smidgen of the idea as a little message to her in the border.

Shirts Update

I batched out some Shirts blocks, which really got me into a good, creative flow. I pulled fabrics that I used as tablecloths and flowers for the wedding and went from there picking one block pairing at a time.

Several of you have been asking about the fabric flowers that I made, and so I’m thinking about doing another post with just some of the wedding detailing. Let me know if that’s something you are curious about!

I also matched a Shirt to what I’m wearing in the video. My top is made from the Florence pattern by Merchant and Mills. I LOVE wearing this top. It definitely appeared last year, and so I wanted to play with the fabric choice for the block this year. Instead of using the actual linen, I picked this petite gingham that falls right in line with the shirt in terms of color. Sometimes it’s more fun to riff on something rather than mimic it exactly.

Cf Shirts of Shirt block to match my outfit

Goals for Next Week

We have just 1 week left in this Quilt Along. Think about your goals for this next week. Is there anything you missed or forgot about that you want to make sure to tackle? Look back over your early dreams, notes and sketches to see what you might have missed. Maybe there is something to include in this project, or maybe you can save an idea for a future project. Whatever it is, taking a little time now to reflect on your priorities can help guide your focus for the next week.

My goals for the next week are to add a label to the twin-sized Alphabet quilt. I’d also like to figure out how many more Shirts blocks I need to make for a good arrangement. I’m going to take the blocks from this Quilt Along and the ones from last year and join them together into one quilt. I’d like to get all of the blocks sewn together and add borders to make it a throw-sized project by next week.

I can quilt it after the Quilt Along is over, but I’m hoping that getting it to the quilt-top-stage will build momentum like was the case with my Alphabet quilt. One satisfying finish can certainly inspire the next!