A finished quilt and a picture post ~
My quilt bucket list is long and on it are many quilts, in no particular order, that I would one day like to make. That one day finally came for a traditional Irish Chain Quilt, and a red and white Irish Chain Quilt at that.
Denyse Schmidt: Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration:
20 New Designs with Historic Roots
I have long bookmarked an Irish Chain Quilt in the book Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration: 20 New Designs with Historic Roots by Denyse Schmidt. This is such a great book! It is full of graphic - and beautifully photographed - modern quilts with a distinct nod to the traditional. I followed the instructions for the Irish Chain Quilt verbatim which included piecing sets of skinny strips from the full width of the fabric. This is definitely not my favorite way to piece a quilt top but I accepted the challenge and won. All's well that ends well. Admittedly it was a quick and efficient way to piece the quilt top.
Once the quilt top was completed I pushed ahead and basted the quilt in preparation for quilting. While I don't usually mark my quilt tops for quilting I did mark all the quilting lines for this quilt. The distance between patchwork units was just too great to trust myself to "eyeball" a straight line. I used a Clover Water Soluble Marker and a ruler to mark all lines prior to basting. The quilting ... took ages, but as always these closely spaced lines - just 3/4" apart - add so much texture to the quilt.
Once quilted I trimmed off the excess batting and dunked the quilt in a tub of cool water to remove the marked lines. The lines disappeared instantly! Concerned about possible color run from the red fabric I did add multiple Color Catcher sheets to the water. Thankfully the fabric was color fast and did not bleed (and no, I don't pre-wash fabric). I then tumbled dried the quilt on a gentle setting, giving the quilt a soft and slightly crinkled look and feel. All of the photos are of the washed and tumble dried quilt.
For the back of the quilt I have used go-to backing fabric: Newsprint in White from the Story Collection by Carrie Bloomston. The binding fabric is the same as the background fabric used for the quilt top: Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in Natural. The binding was attached to the quilt after the quilt was washed and dried.
QUILT STATS
Red and White Irish Chain Quilt
From the book: Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration by Denyse Schmidt
Finished quilt measures 55 inches x 55 inches.
Solid fabric used:
Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in Natural
Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in Tomato
Thread:
Aurifil 50wt (orange spool) for piecing.
Aurifil 28wt (grey spool) for quilting.
Low Loft Cotton Batting:
Warm & White batting from The Warm Company;
a low loft batting perfect for use with low volume and bright white fabrics.
This quilt is available for purchase from my Etsy Store.
See all the listing details here:
Modern Irish Chain Quilt
Click on any image for a larger view.
I am so pleased with how this quilt turned out and I am happy to have it ticked off my quilt bucket list. Mind you, I don't think that this is my last Irish Chain Quilt, nor my last red/white quilt, or even my last quilt from the book by Denyse Schmidt.
As always, thank you for stopping by,
Rita
RELEVANT LINKS:
Red Pepper Quilts Etsy Store
Book: Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration by Denyse Schmidt
More RPQ Irish Chain Quilts:
Irish Chain Scrap Buster Quilt - A Tutorial
Irish Chain Scrap Buster Quilt - July 2015
Memoire A Paris Irish Chain Quilt - June 2016
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