I am really thrilled with my first Night Garden bonus quilt finish, Space Arcade.
For a quick recap, I made the queen size version of Night Garden for my sister- and brother-in-law. From the queen size version of Night Garden, there are enough large scraps created in piecing the quilt top that I also designed 2 additional throw size quilts to use up the scraps. Space Arcade requires an additional 3⅜ yards of a background fabric, so I paired the Kona Royal and Oyster scraps with FreeSpirit Designer Essential Solids in Cerulean. The Space Arcade bonus quilt can be made using scraps from either Night Garden quilt size (pattern(s) coming soon!).
Space Arcade – Just Finished!
As soon as I put the last stitch in the binding of the quilt, I had a thought about who this 54″ x 62″ quilt would be perfect for, so I snapped this quick photo with my phone to check via text message to see if my hunch was right. My hunch proved to be correct, so this quilt has already been washed and is on its way to its new home.
I had some Kona Ocean yardage in my stash, and it is VERY similar to Kona Royal. You can see in the photo above how similar the backing and binding (which are both Kona Ocean) appear to be with the pieced Kona Royal scraps in the quilt top.
Space Arcade – Quilting Detail
After finishing all the straight line quilting, I did have a moment where I paused to consider if the denser back and forth free motion quilted lines I had planned were really needed. Thankfully I didn’t ponder that for too long and honestly, the free motion quilting went really quickly. I love the extra definition the denser quilted lines give to the negative space and the texture is really satisfying to feel.
For the quilting, I used 3 different 50wt Aurifil thread colors matched to each area of the quilt: 1320 (Bright Teal) to match the background FreeSpirit Cerulean, 2740 (Dark Cobalt) to match the Kona Royal and Kona Ocean, and 2000 (Light Sand) to match the Kona Oyster. That did mean I had a lot of starts and stops and threads to bury, but with a side threading needle, it was easy to bury the threads as I quilted.
Space Arcade – Quilt Backing
I like to use the same thread in the bobbin that I’m working with on the quilt top, which has the added bonus of creating a really lovely slightly colorized version of the quilt on the backing.
Space Arcade
While the binding matching the backing might not be terribly exciting, I do love the way the dark binding frames this quilt. I would have loved to go outside and photograph Space Arcade in the wild, but the winds here this week have been over 20mph, which is less than ideal for a quilt photoshoot! And since I had just enough time to get the quilt washed and shipped off for a special occasion, I decided these indoor photos were definitely good enough. I can’t wait for the recipient to get the quilt and start using it.
Space Arcade – First Wash Crinkle
Before I shipped Space Arcade away, I made sure to give it a nice first wash. The crinkle texture did not disappoint! The quilt measured 51 1/2″ wide by 59 1/2″ long after the first wash, which is about a 4.5% shrinkage.
Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday, Finished or Not Friday, Beauties Pageant, and Favorite Finish April 2023.
Spectacular! Thanks for showing the back, it’s the best way to focus on the quilting. Your quilting designs are always so well thought out & the perfect enhancement of your piecing.
I find the crinkly look of a fresh washed quilt so satisfying, all that lovely texture enhancing the quilt pattern. Well done Yvonne, looks fabulous!
i love your quilts! this is so cool… love how you extend the shapes through the quilting… have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Again Yvonne, another stunning quilt. I love how the quilting gives the back a beautiful quilt all by itself!!
Congrats on another fun and colorful finish. The quilting is really amazing, it does give really great texture to the quilt. What a great gift for a special occasion.
This turned out wonderful!!! I love utilizing the scraps right away, though you’d never know this was from the scraps!
Your quilting really enhances the quilt! Bravo!
Excellent quilting for this top! Looks awesome!
It is a total stunner, and I just love the quilting work you did there, especially the dense areas, it really stands out in a beautiful way. Whoever this is going to is going to be very happy!
beautiful job on the quilting!
You get the best bonus quilts from your initial projects! This one is so pretty with the detailed quilting – and that backing is just as pretty as the front!
This turned out lovely, I really like the bits of dense quilting, and I’m so pleased it already has a new home. Wonderful!
Stunning!! I love how you matched the quilting thread to the fabric color and how it carried through to the back to produce its own special design. It really sets off the design. Do you typically do a first wash with color catchers or something to prevent any bleeding? Have you ever had any issues with bleeding? I love your use of high contrast fabric colors.
I can’t wait for these patterns!
Another lovely quilt! I love that it uses leftovers from another pattern! Your quilting always adds so much to the quilt! Great job!
Such pretty blues. I love the dense line quilting addition, really gives it great definition and texture. Lucky recipients!
This is just beautiful. I really like how you use the quilting to enhance the shapes ! Its a gorgeous finish!
I love Space Arcade and what a great bonus quilt. The quilting design is really perfect and the back is as gorgeous as the front. I am glad it has found a home.
Space Arcade is wonderful! It’s amazing what you can do with straight-line quilting to create texture. Whoever gets this will be thrilled for sure!
I absolutely love this pattern!
Great design, Yvonne! I love the quilting and the colors, too!!!
This is a stunning quilt in every way!