Peppered Cotton :: Especia Tile

It's funny (not funny) how fast a year goes by the older you get.  It seems like with the blink of an eye months and months have flown by.  In the case of this quilt, it has been a month shy of one year.  One year! 

ESPECIA TILE
49 1/2" x 49 1/2" 

There are many reasons why it took so long, but the good news is its finally finished.  And I have to say I'm kicking myself for not having it done a long time ago!

I took a design I made last year (Connections) and revamped it using bright jewel tone Peppered Cottons.  Reworking old designs to make them new again is something I'm obsessed with these days.  

 

All of the blocks are paper pieced and finish at 2 3/4" square.  It's a very simple block to piece, the hard part is making sure all of the seams match up.  I was very aware with every single block and took an enormous amount of care to make sure I managed near perfection.



The fabric I used is Studio E Peppered Cotton.  With the exception of the lightest yellow which is a Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton.  If you aren't familiar with either of these fabrics, what makes them unique and different is the warp and weft of the weave.  There are two colors woven together to make the fabric almost appear iridescent and gives a depth that you don't get with regular solids.

ROUND 1

When I started I first designed the center using EQ8.  Once I was satisfied I printed my templates and the design on paper.  The paper design was extremely helpful as a reference to the correct block placement round by round.

ROUND 2

With the center finished I moved on to round 2.  I guess you could think of this as a Medallion Quilt.  Medallion quilts start with a central focal point.  From there rows or rounds are added on all sides around the center which increases the size of the quilt.

Once a round was finished I would run to my laptop and add another round in EQ8.  I would experiment with the colors until it was right.  There was a balancing act with the colors because some of the fabric I had very little to work with.

ROUND 3

I honestly had no idea how big this quilt was going to end up!  I just kept working until it was acceptable.  Or maybe until I got sick and tired of it!  Nonetheless, it was pretty fun!

ROUND 4

With the forth and final round complete I was ready for a break and promptly set the quilt aside for a couple months.  

  

Another month later I pieced the backing and pinned all the parts and pieces together.  It was finally ready to quilt!!  But you know what came next, right?!  It was tossed aside (carefully of course!) because I didn't want to quilt it.  

First of all, I didn't have a plan.  Secondly, I was not looking forward to quilting it.  The thing about Peppered or Shot cottons is the weave of the fabric is looser than regular fabric.  If you don't pin or spray baste the heck out of it...it can become frustrating to quilt.  It might stretch, pucker or move.  And I didn't want to deal with it...at all...never if I had a choice!



So, imagine my surprise when I finally did quilt it and I didn't have one single issue, problem, frustration or aggravated moment!  Naturally that made me happy, but also slightly mad that I hadn't finished it sooner!



There was that part about not having a quilting plan though!  It just got to the point that I was going to go for it.  With my big girl panties on, I went for it.  The usual straight lines here and there, and a bit of FMQ for the texture effect.  



The back shows some of the design elements in the quilting.  A few different thread colors were used throughout, but I tried to limit the thread changes to some degree.



With the purple binding added I could finally relish in a finish that was in the making for far too long.  Now that it's finished I wonder what all the fuss was about!  I can't say that it won't happen again though!

Are there certain fabrics you dread using or quilting?  As long as it's quilting cotton I'll give it a try!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY