Quilting with Moda Quilt

Date: 2004 to 2004
Location: Wellington, Ontario, Canada

Quilting with Moda

A Moda challenge quilt contest

Made by Karen Carter - 2004

Size: 72 ¼” x 72 ¼” reversible quilt

Every aspect of quilting is a joy, but staying focused on one quilt at a time has always been a challenge for me. I was thrilled when this project was completed within six months – in time for the Moda Challenge deadline.

The challenge was to make a 50-inch or larger quilt, not to exceed 110 inches square. The quilt was to include each of the 12 tan-coloured Moda challenge fabrics.

I love scrap and sampler quilts, so it was natural for me to combine the two together. Including the 12 challenge fabrics, 272 fabrics were combined into the front of the quilt and 53 fabrics cover the back. There are two that were used on both sides, bring the total to 323 different fabrics. Whatever did not work in the blocks went into the piano key border and half log cabin corer squares. To think I still had a handful of un-used fabrics.

I used graph paper and EQ5 to design a layout. Several of the blocks are traditional patterns that my guild presented for Block-of-the-Month. Other patterns came from Atkinson Designs, American School of Needlework, EQ5, Kim Diehl, Better Homes & Gardens Magazine. I even designed a block (Pansy with Flying Geese border). The blocks were machine pieced and hand appliqued. The Quilt Shop and Sewing Machine include some hand embroidery. The Moda label, When this you see Remember Me, includes my name, address, and the date – written with permanent pen.

Hand quilting is not my strong suit, so I machine quilted it with invisible thread from the back side. The blocks were joined together using a half-inch sashing. The sashing on the back was pieced together first before joining to the blocks. I even went as far as piecing together the hanging sleeve.

I entered my creation at Fabric Expressions, a quilting shop in Mount Forest, Ontario, where it was the only quilt exhibited.