Turquoise Patchwork Quilt

I pieced turquoise strips at the Essenhaus Retreat in January which were then sewn into a flimsy. Once the flimsy was finished, it was hung in the to be quilted closet along with several other flimsies I plan to quilt this spring.

I used my Elna 720 machine for quilting, it can be challenging maneuvering everything through the throat but I got 'er done.

The border fabric and the backing are the same fabric. I bought the bolt from Lori when she decided she no longer had a use for it but it was perfect for me.

I had blocks left from piecing the front of the quilt and added them to the backing. 

I used a light variegated blue thread to quilt diagonally through the white block. I didn't want to use plain white thread, I thought the white blocks needed something to brighten them. I left the turquoise blocks unquilted.

The white border was stitched in the ditch on both sides and then 1/2" from the edges. It looked baggy without the extra stitching.

For the border I used the Baptist Fan design. The first item I ever quilted with the Baptist Fan was a little doll quilt. I did a terrible job but that's how we learn. My curves are much smoother now without zigs or zags. I really am improving with my machine stitching but I'm careful to not use too complicated of designs.

A different thread was used for the border, a darker variegated turquoise thread. I thought the thread used on the white would be too light for the borders.

The finished quilt measures 53" by 69", a nice snuggling size.

All of these fabrics are leftover from the quilts I made for Joanna last year. I didn't have the backing/border fabric last year or it would have appeared in her quilts.

This is going to be a summer birthday gift for a friend, I think she'll be quite surprised.

This was the 2nd quilt I've quilted in my spring quilting journey, two completed, several more to quilt! 

Linking to Oh Scrap, To Do Tuesday, Wednesday Wait Loss, Put Your Foot Down, I Quilted This!, TGIFF!, Finished or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts