Big Block Churn Dash Quilt

I have a finish to share.  If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed me working on this quilt, without really sharing any shots that would give away what it was.  This quilt was a gift for my very good friend's sweet baby girl, who celebrated her first birthday this past Saturday.

Me with the Birthday Girl.  I could snuggle her all day!
Photo credit: Momma's Gonna Snap Photography/Amanda Liberto

Baby girl's momma is a wonderfully talented photographer.  Shameless plug here for her (she has no idea I am doing this).  If you live in the Houston area, or even if you don't but love beautiful lifestyle photography (who doesn't?), please follow her Facebook page.  I can guarantee that you will not regret it.  You will even frequently see photos of my family there, as she is our family photographer and we will never, ever use anyone else.

Back to the matter at hand, this quilt pattern appears in Simply Retro by Camille Roskelley.  The churn-dash is easily one of my top three favorite quilt blocks (probably my very favorite if you forced me to choose).  I slightly modified it by using all one print for the churn dash components.  

I quilted the daylights out of the negative space - dense straight line quilting spaced about a half inch apart, and what I am referring to as free-motion bubbles in the borders.  I say bubbles because the circles are not perfect or smooth and some of them overlap a little the way bubbles and suds do.  I think it is a very beginner-friendly FMQ technique for when you are ready to move on from loops and stipples.  It does not have to be close to perfect to look great.  I left the print of the churn dash minimally quilted in an effort to make it look like it's popping off the quilt.  I only echoed the seams there.

After doing all of that delicious quilting, I thought that a contrasting binding might compete too much with the texture I worked so hard to achieve in the negative space.  I had originally thought to use a solid pink to up the girliness-factor on this not-sugary-sweet baby girl quilt.  But in the end I used some more Kona in white and I am so happy I did.  I love a white binding (I previously used white binding here on my Spring Sprout runner).

This was my first time ever using a quilt label.  I think I will go back and add labels to the rest of my quilts.  Since I am usually selfish and keep them all for my house, I still have access to them.  For this label, I used the freezer paper method to print my own design on some white fabric, then fused it on and hand-stitched around the edges to secure it.

Quilt Stats
Size:  36" x 36"

Pattern:  Baby Love Large Block Quilt from Simply Retro by Camille Roskelley

Fabric:  Prints from 2wenty Thr3e by Eric and Julie Comstock of Cosmo Cricket for Moda, Kona White

Quilting: Straight-lines, free-motion bubbles using my home machine