improv challenge baby quilt finish

My improv challenge baby quilt was finished in time for our last Crystal Lake Modern Quilt Guild meeting a couple of weeks ago, but I just finally got some decent photos yesterday thanks to my helpful volunteer - Thing 1!

I free-motion quilted it with randomly spaced vertical wavy lines, some closer than others, with a couple of sections of wonky log-cabin-like stitching to repeat the shape of the blocks in the negative space.

I used a lime-green thread, and even though you can't really see the color unless you look closely, I think it gives the negative space a lot more zing than just a plain white thread.

I washed the quilt right after it was completed (an entire day before deadline, thank you very much!) because I was a tad disappointed with my quilting stitches. I'm sure it was hot up in the sewing room, so I probably tried to speed through the quilting process and because of that my stitch lengths were very inconsistent. But the puckering from the wash and dry does an excellent job of hiding those flaws.

 

A fun Michael Miller dot backing and a black and white stripe binding cut on the bias give it a little extra zip!

My guild is in the early planning stages of hosting our own quilt show, so I'll probably hang on to this quilt until that takes place. But after that, I'm not sure. It's okay to have a pile of quilts that you made for the sole purpose of learning a new skill or even just for the joy of working with the fabrics, right?

Yeah, that's what I thought, too :)

One more question: I used to prefer the crisp look of a quilt before washing, but now I really love the softness and texture (and flaw-concealment!) that only washing and drying can provide :) Do you prefer washed or unwashed??