Insect Quilt

I finally have some photos of Theo's quilt to show you, hurray! It feels like ages since I finished it now, never mind since I started it  (back here for the front, and here for the back).





It caused me quite a few problems from start to finish, and looks nothing like I originally planned it to be, but I am really pleased with it. I love the fabrics, which all have a creepy crawly theme going on, since Theo loves insects and bugs of any kind.

 

But most of all I love the 'back'. I write that with inverted commas because, personally, I think the back could be the front - in fact, I think I've made a reversible quilt here! This is not something I thought I would ever do, usually making a top is plenty enough for me, and it's not something I really planned for this quilt, it just sort of happened.

I started out wanting to include a picture of Theo on the back. I used this photo from the Summer as my inspiration.

And did my own, insect hunting version of it in machine embroidery.

By the time I'd built it up, and included some of my reject blocks from the front, I would have been quite happy to have it as my front. The only trouble was I then found it incredibly difficult to quilt. Both because the way I wanted to quilt the front was not how I wanted to quilt the back, and because I found it very difficult to get both sides to lie nice and smooth and flat. I wasn't helped by the fact that it's pretty big either, it was supposed to be single bed size but it ended up almost double bed size. I know lots of quilters manage much harder and bigger challenges on their ordinary, little sewing machines, and do an amazing job too, but I really struggled. So I ended up quilting it very simply, with some swirly lines in the picture area from the back side, and then stitching in the ditch in the other areas from the front side. And I'm now in no hurry whatsoever to make another large, reversible quilt! But I am glad I made this one.

And Theo seems glad too - he likes it!

I'm linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday over at My Quilt Infatuation today. If you have a moment go and look at some of the beautiful quilts linked up over there. And I'll be back tomorrow with a photo.

Sally.