This quilt is made from a pattern published by Missouri Star Quilt Company and they call it “Oberlin”. I used it recently as the basis for a larger quilt – I put four of these together and added a border – but this grey and white smaller custom version was the one I first intended to make! I used some grey shot cotton and some cotton/linen blend and the textures of those fabrics is wonderful.
This was going to be a custom project from the beginning and, as usual, I had a bit of a plan in my head and once I started the plan changed and new ideas emerged along the way. This is what I love about hand guided free motion quilting! I can make things symmetrical, or not; I can mark up the quilt, or not. I am free to do whatever I choose in any space.
Now I have to admit that this also means I can get stitching away and forget that I wanted an extra margin here or there (and if you look closely at this one you will know what I mean!) but in the end with so many cool things happening on a quilt like this, it really doesn’t matter. Once I got to the outside border, I decided it did not have to be consistent, other than in density for a proper drape, and I mixed up a bunch of designs I’ve tried in the past and I’m super happy with the texture and interest this gave to the quilt. When I’ve spent several hours working on a project like this, I always enjoy rediscovering the various stitching patterns as I move my hand over the finished quilt, some of which I might have forgotten about as it was rolled back and forth on my long arm frame.
I can’t say enough how much I love white on white quilting – or in this case slightly off white – and the wool batting from Quilter’s Dream definitely helped make the quilting pop.
Check out the video below to see some of the action!
Ann Walsh Quilting 