tone it down {a finished quilt}

Once upon a time, way back in December last year, I fell in love with this gorgeous quilt and could not help but run to the store to get my copy of American Patchwork magazine and start cutting my fabric and piecing all the tiny squares together right away and I was smitten.

I chose lots of low volume fabrics from my stash and decided to go for sort of vintage, faded vibe. This one is my absolute favorite block.

I decided to make 12 blocks to make a nice throw sized quilt and everything was going great. Then I pieced all the blocks together and I was no longer in love :(. The quilt seemed "too busy"??? So, it sat in a dark closet for couple of weeks and then one day I suddenly knew that a little "quilt surgery" might be just the right fix.

 I decided to rip out the two very busy sashing strips and replace then with plain white fabric instead. It worked!!! Now, the whole surgery turned out to be a lot more complicated then I first thought, but it was so very worth it. 

My quilt top was a lot more balanced now and I loved it once again, yay! Very dramatic, I know :)

I did these continuous eights/ wishbones quilting and while it definitely is not perfect, I think I'm finally getting better with my FMQ. The only thing that is kind of bugging me is that after washing and drying the quilt became a lot more crinkled than I'd prefer. Any idea why sometimes quilts crinkle more than other times? I wonder, is it the quilting that determines that? I mean, I still like it, I would just prefer it to be more flat.

I really love this big gingham I chose for the backing. I think it complements the old fashioned look of the quilt quite well.

And yes, this is what happens when my son helps with taking pictures. Dragging the quilt all over the grass is an essential step in making the quilt "ours". Yes, yes, my heart did a few skips when I saw what he was doing, but thankfully the quilt did not sustain any grass or mud stains. Phew!

Long post, right? Thanks for reading. Svetlana