WIP: Good Fortune Quilt

I started working on my first large quilt shortly after I gave into enormous temptation treated myself to a new sewing machine. Previous to that magical day, I had been using a Singer from college. While it was a fine little starter machine, it was pathetically unfit for accurate piecing and free motion quilting. The day my Janome came home, not only did the quality of my sewing improve, but so did the speed! I had no idea what I was missing!

Scrappy zigzag backing in progress

I've been steadily working on this quilt through a series of other projects, but it's really beginning to come together! I started with a layer cake of Kate Spain's "Good Fortune" and coordinating solids, and then added additional prints from my stash. I followed the pattern for the Lemon Squares from Fresh Lemons Quilts, and choose to highlight the purple, green, and aqua colorways in Good Fortune. If I did it again, I think I would use more of the aqua. Oh well, live and learn.

For the backing I decided to do a scrappy zigzag. It took FOREVER to piece it out of 2.5 inch squares, but I really love the outcome. I think I actually love the back more than the front!

I choose a largish stippling for the quilting. I'm still not perfect at it, but my free motion skills are definitely improving... I just need to find a way to stop obsessing over every little mistake I make!

I hope to finish quilting it tonight, and maybe bind it over the weekend. I haven't been able to commit to a fabric for the binding. I'm torn between a turquoise argyle, a dark purple floral from Good Fortune, and a multi-colored fabric that's heavy on the orange. Maybe it will speak to me once it's finished being quilted!