April Showers: Mini Quilt #18

April 30, 2015

This mini quilt was designed a few months ago right after I received this package of fat quarters by Bonnie and Camille that I won in a giveaway from Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.  The fabrics come from Bonnie and Camille’s April Showers line of fabric, so I decided that April would be the perfect time to create and share this little quilt.

April Showers Mini Quilt front view

The abstract triangular raindrops in this quilt are foundation paper pieced in rows before being assembled into the quilt top.

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In deciding what fabric to pair with the April Showers Fabrics, I looked at several color options.  I knew that I wanted to go with a solid background fabric in order to show off the cute prints in the fat quarter collection.  White seemed a bit stark for this project, and the blues I had available were a little too cheerful.  This mid-tone grey really captured the feel of a rainy day.

April Showers front detail

I kept the backing simple by using the same grey fabric.  This really allowed the matchstick quilting to shine.  Most of the quilting was done with a teal colored 50wt cotton thread by WonderFil.  I had read good things about this thread in the last issue of Generation Q Magazine, so when I saw their booth at the American Quilter’s Society show in Paducah last week, I knew I wanted to purchase a couple spools.  It really worked out beautifully, and I used red and yellow thread that I already had on hand to add interest to the matchstick design.  I wanted to add a little glitz to this quilt to emulate the shimmer of raindrops so I attempted to use silver metallic thread.  In the past, I have not had the best experience with metallic thread, but this time it worked really well.  The fantastic and helpful people in at the WonderFil vendor booth gave me a sample pack of thread which included a metallic silver thread with a rayon core.  It is a really light, thin thread that went through my machine beautifully.  There was no shredding or breaking of the thread, which was really exciting given my past experience with metallics.  I was quite pleased with the life this small amount of shimmer the metallic thread adds to the design.

April Showers back view

Rather than keeping the entire binding grey, I decided to add small pieces of the April Showers fabric along one side of the bias.

April Showers binding detail

Quilt Stats

Title:  April Showers

Size:  18.25″ x 9.25″

Techniques:  Foundation Paper Piecing

Quilting:  Matchstick quilting using four different threads

Fabrics:  April Showers by Bonnie and Camille, mid-tone grey solid from my stash (I think it was a Kona cotton)

Batting:  Warm and White

Thread:  Pieced using Gutermann Mara 100 in white and grey, Quilted with 50wt Egyptian Cotton Konfetti color 607 by WonderFil, Silver Metallic Rayon core WonderFil, 50wt Red Cotton Essentials machine quilting thread by Connecting Threads, and 50wt Daffodil Yellow (1135) cotton Aurifil Thread

Binding:  Grey bias with April Showers accents, cut 2″ wide, machine stitched to the front of the quilt, hand stitched to the back

What was new:

A new pattern

A new (and more successful) metallic thread

Quilt 18 / 50

Quilt 18 / 50

Goal #4 is Finished!

Goal #4 is Finished!

This week Darcy at Modern Cozy is starting a weekly link up for Mini Quilts called Mini Quilt Monday.  I am really looking forward to having a link up available that is dedicated to the fabulous mini quilt!  I am also linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts, and the Paper Piecing Party at Quilt Art Design.  Please stop by to see the fantastic sewing being done!

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15 Comments

  • Reply
    Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl
    April 30, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    The design is very fitting for the feeling of a rainy day and the gray is definitely a perfect color for the quilt top negative space and backing. The touch of the fabrics in the binding is really nice. Thank you for your discussion about metallic thread; maybe one day I’ll try it out, too.

  • Reply
    Cynthia Brunz
    May 1, 2015 at 12:03 am

    Another great mini quilt! Did I forget to tell you I wanted my fabric back? We do like our April showers here in the northwest!

  • Reply
    christine
    May 1, 2015 at 12:21 pm

    This is stunning! I love the fabrics you went with and the multi-colored quilting!

  • Reply
    susie
    May 1, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    I love your April Showers Mini Quilt! The quilting, in varying threads, is the perfect touch! I love this quilt design.

  • Reply
    Bernie
    May 1, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    I love this mini quilt. Great fabric choices. I haven’t tried any metallic thread as I keep hearing that it gives people grief. Nice to see that you had good success with it though. The quilting looks really good on this piece.

  • Reply
    Mary Huey
    May 2, 2015 at 7:49 am

    Love the matchstick quilting — really emphasizes the “showers” theme!!

  • Reply
    Judy
    May 2, 2015 at 10:01 am

    The quilting really makes this quilt shine, Cassandra. Beautifully done. Metallic thread can be a real pain but it can also just the right punch to a quilt. Glad you found one that works for your machine. Superior Threads has a couple of very interesting videos on using metallic thread on their web site. The information is helpful even if it is not their metallic thread you are using or buying 🙂 Here’s a link to the first part https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1qJR8qoCyE.

  • Reply
    Phil Lahrmer
    May 3, 2015 at 5:43 am

    Your quilt is gorgeous. I especially enjoy your design.

  • Reply
    Valerie
    May 5, 2015 at 6:05 am

    This is fun!

  • Reply
    Darcy
    May 5, 2015 at 7:28 am

    Thanks so much for linking up with Mini Quilt Monday! I love how you used these kind of traditional fabrics in a non-traditional layout. And that quilting! Gorgeous!

  • Reply
    Jayne
    May 5, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    Its a wonderful design! Love the quilting and gray background! Really lovely!

  • Reply
    wendy
    May 8, 2015 at 6:57 am

    what a fab mini! I love the coloured quilting

  • Reply
    Mini Quilt Mania 2015 | The (not so) Dramatic Life
    May 8, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    […] April Showers: Mini Quilt #18 […]

  • Reply
    Carla
    May 9, 2015 at 7:31 pm

    I love the multicoloured matchstick quilting. I am still have bunching problems with straight-line quilting. The layers are not feeding through evenly and I am not sure how to fix it. More fiddling with settings needed!

  • Reply
    Archie The Wonder Dog
    July 6, 2015 at 4:36 am

    It’s a fabulous mini and I love the quilting! I think the secret to metallic thread is to use a metallic needle – they have a groove above the eye which helps stop shredding…

    *Visiting as a member of the official 2015 Finish-Along cheerleading squad*

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