Free Motion Mavericks - Week 47 - Yellow Cradle Quilt

Finished this week - the yellow cradle quilt with rudbeckias. 

The little squares and binding are all from the same fabric, a Japanese cotton which I bought in 2012 at the Quilts UK show at Malvern, from the stall of Euro Japan Links.

Because the main background colour of the Japanese cotton is a rich yellow, rudbeckias seemed to be the obvious choice for the free motion quilting design.  The main fabric in the quilt is a creamy buttermilk colour, to tone in with the yellow.

I kept the quilted leaves a simple shape so the flowers could be the main focus of attention.

The occasional flower popped up in the little squares...

... and because the Japanese cotton had so many vibrant colours, I alternated the squares to try and get an even distribution of the colours.

The binding was fun to attach, changing colour every few inches.  One corner turned out purple and green...

... one has a cluster of blue petals...

... and another one has pink, red and dark green.

The quilting thread is Gutermann's Sulky Cotton 30 in variegated colours, using three different shades altogether - the darkest for the binding, an intermediate pastel shaded thread for the quilting which went into the little squares, and a paler thread for the quilting in the larger areas between the rows of squares.

I wasn't sure how visible the quilting would be on the back, but you can just about see it.

And if you look carefully you will spot a few little pleats.  It is ages since I did any of these. Totally my own fault - I should have used a heavier weight of cotton, so I'm not going to fret over it.  Extra warmth for the baby.

Here goes for week 47...

Many thanks to QuiltMusings, Bernie, Julie, Alison, Maartje, Teresa and Linda for linking up last week to show their free motion quilting projects.  

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France and Macau have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Angie's blog A Quilting Reader's Garden for WIPs Be Gone
and Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts
and AmandaJean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.