Finished Summer Picnic Quilt - Another Q2 Finish Along Goal Met

I finished this summer picnic quilt last week but haven't made it onto the blog to write about it until today. This was number 9 on my Q2 Finish Along list. I've had this jelly roll for about four years and I put it up on destash over on Instagram but no one bought it so I decided if I couldn't destash it (which I didn't really want to anyway) then I needed to get it out of my stash by sewing it into a quilt.

This is my favourite thing to do with a jelly roll. I've seen quilts like this in two of the books in my quilt book collection. I didn't really follow any directions this time around because this is the fourth time I've made a quilt like this. You just start sewing your strips together in pairs. It helps if they are a light and a dark or contrasting colours in the pairs. Then you cut them with a quarter square specialty ruler making triangles. Then start sewing triangles together to make squares and then sew the squares together into rows alternating the direction of the centre seam. It looks much harder than it is when you're done and you can space out at the sewing machine and chain piece most of it.

I used IKEA fabric for the backing and it was wide enough that I didn't have to piece it! White is not the best choice for the back of a picnic quilt but let's get real... I'm probably never going to take this out on a picnic and risk getting it dirty. It's on the couch right now as I type.

Despite the fact that I bought the jelly roll four years ago one of my favourite fabric shops in St. Albert, Alberta "Quiltessential" still has quite a lot of the cherry yardage on the bolt. After having them cut a metre of blue I spotted the black but it was too late. It's a good thing I love blue. :) I quilted large feathers in the border and stitched in the ditch on the main top. (This fabric is "Recipe for Friendship" by Mary Engelbreit for Moda.)

A closer look at some of the fabrics. My favourite is the paisley with the tea pot in the middle.

The lilacs smelled so lovely as we were out taking the photos. They are gone already! Such fleeting flowers.

One last look. It completely covers my husband here and he's a pretty big guy so it's great as a lap quilt in the living room.
Thank you for coming over to see my quilt today. This week has been very busy with volunteer work at my kids' school but I hope to have more finishes to show you soon! :) In the meantime you can check out my Instagram and Facebook pages for more frequent posts of what I'm up to including some outfits I have sewn this week for myself and my middle daughter. (You can click the icons in the mason jars on the top right of my button bar.)

2015 FAL at On the Windy Side