I have been waiting to make this quilt for over a month. This was the quilt that made me say, “I am so taking this curves class.” I just love the feminine style of this quilt! Rachel is just brilliant for coming up with this design.
I thought that this quilt came together very easily. The repetition of this pattern made each block form more easily than the last. I loved that. I made my quilt just a little larger than Rachel’s because I had a hard time picturing the size while it was hanging on a wall. And you know, I do that same thing with every quilt it seems, so I end up making them larger. My quilt came out to 45″ x 48″, which is just perfect for a couch throw, but now that its hanging on my wall it looks so small. I have no idea why. To make mine just a smidge larger, I just added an extra row of scallops.
I did have a small issue while making this quilt, but it had nothing to do with the pattern and everything to do with the fabric. This mistake reinforces my unwillingness to work with multiple manufacturers/designers on the same project. I ordered the solid colors to coordinate with this print, which I plan to use for backing:
Because Free Spirit didn’t have solids that matched every color closely enough, I ended up purchasing the blue (Parisian Blue), mustard (Empire Yellow), and light pink (Crystal Pink) from Pat Bravo’s Pure Elements collection (a line I’ve not worked with before). Those fabrics straight up suck. No lie. They are such poor quality, especially when paired with the much nicer, and thicker Free Spirit Solids. I used Arctic White and Red from this collection. Now that I have worked with Pure Elements I know I will not be ordering any more from that collection, but will settle for a slight color difference in Free Spirit Solids. A funny irony: Free Spirit Solids are actually less expensive than Pure Elements. Going with FS is a win win. Okay, I’ll move on from this tangent now.
The Scallop Quilt was so much fun to make! I know I’ll be making another and maybe another after that. The design is just so simple, clean, and classic! Props to Rachel for this great pattern!
Have a great afternoon!
Meredith
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Hurray! And I love your inspiration fabric for the backing. Thanks for the feedback on the other solids. I haven’t tried those before. Good to know! How do you feel that Kona compares to the Freespirit solids?
You know, I haven’t worked with Kona very much. In the times that I have used it, I’ve noticed the thickness. I think that’s a great quality. I would like to explore Kona vs Free Spirit some more. Truly, though, the thing that I’ve found that I’m sure 90% of quilters would say I’m being a little anal about is that I hate mixing manufacturers! The inconsistency beween them is so noticeable expecially in the pressing and laundering! Those inconsistencies can change, even ruin, an entire project, especially one as large as a quilt. Free-Spirit is just my go-to solid brand. I use alot of Free Spirit when I work with AMH, who I adore, and so I know her prints will sew well with those solids.
That was a long-winded response, but I do hope it was understandable and even helpful!