Finish: Modern Mystery Quilt

Over the years, I’ve acquired a lot of quilting fabric. My supply is nowhere near some of the fabric libraries I’ve seen, but it’s enough that some years ago I came up with a rule for myself:

At least half of the fabric for any quilt that I make must come from my stash.

Since I began working with this mindset, I automatically go to my supply of fabric at the early stages of every quilt. I no longer find “forgotten” fabrics because I see them all often enough that they don’t have a chance to be forgotten. And when I do buy fabric, it’s with a specific purpose in mind so I buy just what I need. OK, I still buy extra sometimes, but the random visits to my local quilt shop have stopped!

This rule also challenges me to open my mind to different color and print combinations. I am mindful that I paid just as much for the back of the fabric as I did for the front — if I want a color that’s a little different than what I have on hand, there’s no reason I can’t flip it over to use the “wrong” side. And, for that matter, the back of the quilt takes up just as much space as the front; it can do more than serve as a backdrop to show off the quilting.

The Quilt

A few weeks ago, I wrote about finishing a modern quilt top. It measures about 60 by 78 inches (152 x 198 cm) and all of the almost seven yards of fabric for the front came from my stash. Most of these pastel fabrics feature simple geometric prints. It’s difficult to see in the photos, but the white background fabric has shimmery pale gold stripes; I can’t resist a little sparkle and shine!

I had two orphan blocks that were made from some of the same fabrics that are in this quilt: my first attempt at a New York Beauty block and a pieced pumpkin. I incorporated them into the backing by setting each block into a row of similar colors. Then I worked with the largest leftovers from the front of the quilt, as well as some additional fabrics that didn’t make it onto the front, to create enough strips for the rest of the backing.

The cotton batting was sewn together from large scraps, and I quilted evenly-spaced stripes with white thread on my home sewing machine. The smallest leftover pieces from the front were used to make a scrappy binding.

An entire quilt made from stashed fabric, and I still have plenty more where that came from. But it’s progress, and cozy progress at that!